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October 2008, Volume 19, Issue 4

Mistaken Identity

• Marc F. Plattner

A review of Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy by Natan Sharansky.

April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2

Progress and Retreat in Africa: Legislatures on the Rise?

• Joel D. Barkan

The legislature is emerging as a "player" in some African countries, though not in others. What is the relationship between legislative development and democratic consolidation in Africa?

January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1

The Role of Ordinary People in Democratization

• Christian Welzel
• Ronald Inglehart

In order for a country to move beyond mere electoral democracy, ordinary people must acquire resources and values that allow them to pressure elites. Human empowerment is essential for the development of "effective democracy."

October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4

Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? EU Accession Is No “End of History”

• Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe successfully transitioned to democracy. Do their ongoing political problems exist today because of or in spite of the European Union?

July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3

Exchange: Misunderstanding Gradualism

• Thomas Carothers

Unlike pessimistic scholars and recalcitrant autocrats, most ordinary citizens are inclined to take the risks of choosing democracy when they can.

April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2

Are New Democracies War-Prone?

• Michael McFaul

A review of Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War by Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder

April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2

Assisting Political Parties

• Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

A review of Confronting the Weakest Link: Aiding Political Parties in New Democracies by Thomas Carothers.

October 2006, Volume 17, Issue 4

A “Left Turn” in Latin America? Colombia Hews to the Path of Change

• Eduardo Posada-Carbó

In reelecting President Alvaro Uribe by a landslide, Colombia's voters opted for continuity. But they chose continuity with an administration that has carried out a major series of policy innovations.

January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1

Soldiers and Islamists in Pakistan

• Aqil Shah

Read the full essay here. A review of Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, by Hussain Haqqani.

October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4

Iran’s Peculiar Election: The Role of Ideology

• Ladan Boroumand

The election results reflect less what voters want than the ideological dynamics that shape the behavior of factions within the regime.

October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4

Minding the Polls

• Jørgen Elklit

A review of Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Building Democracy by Eric C. Bjornlund.

April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2

Lipset’s Legacy

• Cynthia McClintock

A review of The Democratic Century by Seymour Martin Lipset and Jason M. Lakin.

January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1

What’s in Store for China

• Merle Goldman

A review of China's Democratic Future: How It Will Happen and Where It Will Lead by Bruce Gilley.

January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1

Building Democracy After Conflict: Bullets, Ballots, and Poppies in Afghanistan

• Larry P. Goodson

By mid-2003, Afghanistan appeared in danger of reverting to “failed-state” status. Happily, the resilience of the Afghans plus some policy changes by the United States and its parners have put things on the right track, though daunting challenges remain.

October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4

Debate: Arab, Not Muslim, Exceptionalism

• Alfred Stepan
• Graeme B. Robertson

Muslim-majority, non-Arab countries are “overachievers” at electoral competitiveness. Arab countries, by contrast, constitute a distinctive political community that at present is inhospitable to competitive elections.

October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4

Argentina Weathers the Storm

• Steven Levitsky
• María Victoria Murillo

In the wake of its recent crisis, Argentina can move from survival to stability only if it responds to demands for institutional change in a way that strengthens the country’s institutions over the long term.

April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2

Books in Review: The Post-Soviet Political Mind

• Vladimir Tismaneanu

A review of “Conversations with Gorbachev” by Mikhail Gorbachev and Zdenek Mlynár.

January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1

The Deadlock in Iran: Pressures from Below

• Ramin Jahanbegloo

Despite today’s gridlock, there are grounds for hope in the widespread embrace of democratic ideals by young people.

January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1

Latin Democracy, Comprehensively

• Mark P. Jones

A review of Democracies in Development: Politics and Reform in Latin America by J. Mark Payne et al.

October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4

Democratization in the Arab World?: The Decline of Pluralism in Mubarak’s Egypt

• Jason Brownlee

Since a tenuous political opening a decade ago, the Mubarak regime has systematically asphyxiated democracy in Egypt.