October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Southeast Asia’s Troubling Elections: Is There a Silver Lining?
A trio of national ballotings in 2019 tell a tale of waxing authoritarianism in Southeast Asia, but things could have turned out worse.
2675 Results
game of thrones friendly 1377x
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Latin America’s Shifting Politics: The Peace Process and Colombia’s Elections
Colombian voters turned against the architects of the peace accord ending the country’s decades-old internal war, while giving the presidency to a lieutenant of ex-president Uribe, the agreement’s leading opponent.
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Latin America’s Shifting Politics: Democratic Survival and Weakness
Democracy is enduring in Latin America, but it cannot be said to be prospering. Illiberalism and polarization are rising. Yet core democratic institutions remain firmly in place, and therein lies hope.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
China in Xi’s “New Era”: Forging a New “Eastern Bloc”
Through its “16+1” initiative, China is building relationships with postcommunist Europe that could threaten to undermine the European Union.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
China in Xi’s “New Era”: A Neglected Democratic Heritage
Despite current trends, Chinese thinkers friendly to human rights and liberal democracy have left behind a treasury of thought from which their country may one day draw new inspiration.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Reevaluating Runoffs in Latin America
The worldwide popularity of runoff rules for presidential elections has grown strikingly in recent decades. In Latin America, contrary to scholarly expectations, this shift has had important benefits for democracy.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Vote in the Philippines: Elite Democracy Disrupted?
Duterte promised voters that he would swiftly reduce crime and poverty and enact constitutional change. But will he violate democratic norms and rule of law in the process?
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Ethiopia: Silencing Dissent
Ethiopia’s ruling party has long been tightening its grip, using antiterrorism laws and harsh restrictions on media and civil society to silence voices critical of the regime.
April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Iran Abroad
The Iranian regime has sought to recast conventional principles of human rights and political participation by forging alliances with like-minded regimes and by broadcasting its narrative to an international audience.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Putin versus Civil Society: The Long Struggle for Freedom
Today’s Russian protest movement in many ways resembles past civil-rights and civil-resistance efforts in other parts of the world, from its commitment to nonviolence to its key demands—a vote that counts and equality under the law. Listen to the podcast.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
A New Chance for Georgian Democracy
In October 2012, Georgia’s government lost power in an election, and peacefully stepped aside. But can a country with Georgia’s troubled history capitalize on this surprising achievement?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: An Autopsy of Managed Democracy
Although they have quieted down as quickly as they flared up, the clamorous protests that followed the dishonest Russian legislative elections in December 2011 have essentially destroyed Putin’s regime, the infamous “managed democracy.”
April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2
Southeast Asia: Thailand’s Uneasy Passage
In 2011, Thais reelected a party backed by deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Why is his brand of populism so irrepressible, and what can be done to reconcile the voting power of Thailand’s rural lower classes with the establishment dug in around the Thai monarchy?
April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2
Southeast Asia: Minding the Gap Between Democracy and Governance
Do democracy and good governance necessarily go hand-in-hand? In most Southeast Asian countries, a gap exists between the two. How should we understand good governance in an authoritarian context? And what does poor governance mean for the legitimacy of democracy?
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
Do New Democracies Support Democracy? The Multilateral Dimension
When it comes to backing democracy and human rights in international forums, the behavior of the world’s six most influential rising democracies ranges from sympathetic support to borderline hostility.
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
Building Democracy While Building Peace
Why are peacebuilding operations rarely able to establish postconflict democracies, and are there other strategies that would yield more successes?
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
The Ballot and the Badge: Democratic Policing
In emerging democracies and postconflict countries, improved policing is almost always urgently required. Yet international-assistance efforts in this area pay almost no attention to the crucial need to ensure that the new-model police are not only effective, but democracy-friendly.
October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy (II): How Regions Differ
Both Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe have undergone significant democratization in recent years. Yet each region retains a distinctive approach, grounded in its own history, to common problems of social welfare and inequality.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Islamist Parties and Democracy: Turkey’s AKP in Power
The rise of Islamist parties poses new challenges to efforts to understand the relationship between Islam and democracy. A diverse group of authors investigates this new phenomenon and its implications for the future of democracy in the Middle East.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Islamist Parties and Democracy: A Boon or a Bane for Democracy?
Read the full essay here. What role do mainstream Islamist movements play in Arab politics? With their popular messages and broad social base, would their incorporation as normal political actors be the best hope for democratization or democracy’s bane? For too long, we have tried to answer such questions solely by speculating about the true…