January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: Does China Fit the Model?
China has seen a staggering number of official corruption cases in recent years. But does it merit the label of kleptocracy?
2676 Results
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January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1
The Never-Boring Balkans: The Elections of 2016
Once Europe’s most painful “problem” area, the Balkans have managed to make strides toward stability, democracy, and integration into the West over the last fifteen or so years. But Moscow is becoming increasingly active in the region, and the durability of these gains should not be taken for granted.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Specter Haunting Europe: Surging Illiberalism in the East
The crisis of liberal democracy is Europe-wide, but it has assumed an especially intense form in Central and Eastern Europe.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
The Struggle Over Term Limits in Africa: A New Look at the Evidence
There is strong empirical evidence to support the correlation between effective term limits and the quality of democracy.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
Shadows in the Swiss Paradise
Long a standout example of consensus-based politics, prosperous Switzerland has now become a mixed democracy with a good deal of polarization and uncertain prospects.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Lessons from Latin America: Building Institutions on Weak Foundations
A particular pattern of institutional change—“serial replacement”—is dominant in Latin America and other developing countries with weak institutional contexts. This pattern is characterized by institutional change that is both frequent and radical.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
Mexico’s 2012 Elections: The Return of the PRI
In July voting, the PRI regained control of the presidency that it had held for seven decades prior to the year 2000. Is this a “new” PRI, or will it return to its old authoritarian ways?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn: Can Outsiders Help?
Can outside actors help Hungarians to loosen Fidesz’s centralized grip on all of their country’s governing institutions?
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy: Growth and Hunger in India
Despite India’s impressive achievements in democracy, economic development, and the rule of law, it remains home to a third of the world’s poor. Although it has successfully averted famine since independence, it still struggles to prevent chronic hunger.
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
The Impact of the Economic Crisis: Why Democracies Survive
As an analysis of recent electoral results shows, the world’s emerging democracies are weathering the global economic crisis surprisingly well. Yet they remain under an even sharper threat from their own failures to deliver good governance.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
The Rise of India’s Second Republic
While he did not achieve the sweeping victory many predicted, Narendra Modi led his ruling coalition to a third consecutive victory. In so doing, he is laying the foundation for a new political order in which India is simultaneously more democratic and more illiberal.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Progress and Retreat in Africa: The Rule of Law versus the Big Man
Africa is a battleground between formal democratic institutions and rule by the will of the "big man." Civil society groups are waging this struggle, and technology is equipping them with surprising new tools.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
A Quarter-Century of Promoting Democracy
On 7 June 2007, the National Endowment for Democracy commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the "Westminster Address" with a panel discussion and reception in Madison Hall at the Library of Congress.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Latin America’s Indigenous Peoples
Where indigenous peoples constitute a smaller share of the electorate, their recent inclusion denotes a more generalized opening of the political system to excluded and vulnerable sectors of society.
January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
The 2005 Freedom House Survey: Progress in the Middle East
The gains for freedom in the Middle East were the most significant seen since the Freedom House survey began in 1972.
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Cambodia: Getting Away with Authoritarianism?
While Cambodia is often thought of as a “transitional” democracy and as a case where UN intervention succeeded, the truth is quite different.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
International Linkage and Democratization
The role of international factors varied greatly across the post-Cold War transitions to democracy, but the intensity and results of external democratizing pressure depended on two variables: linkage to the West and Western leverage.
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
The 2004 Freedom House Survey: Worrisome Signs, Modest Shifts
Modest progress in the muslim-majority countries is complemented by mass mobilization for democracy and freedom in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia ranks as Not Free for the first time since the fall of communism.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
World Religions and Democracy: Judaism and Political Life
Today, Jews the world over are closely and correctly associated with liberal democracy. What are the wellsprings of Jewish tradition and commitment that feed this association?
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
The 2003 Freedom House Survey: National Income and Liberty
Despite the threats posed by terrorism, 2003 saw a second consecutive year of significant momentum of freedom, and showed encouraging evidence that political rights and civil liberties can endure despite economic privation.