The Return of Robert Fico
The perennial Slovak politician practices a hardnosed, vengeful form of politics. It is also bad news for the future of Slovakian democracy.
1720 Results
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Why Sanctions Don’t Work Against Dictatorships
From Putin’s invasion to Kim’s nuclear saber rattling, the West has punished the world’s worst regimes. But have sanctions missed their targets?
Read the April Issue for Free Before It’s Too Late!
How do autocrats control the media? Will Syria be free now that Assad has fallen? What’s to blame for democratic backsliding? Why must Ukraine win? The April issue of the Journal of Democracy tackles some of today’s most pressing questions.
Why This Time Is Different for Venezuela
For years, the Venezuelan opposition has fought hard against a corrupt regime — and come up short. But this time, with four key ingredients in place, we are on the cusp of a historic victory.
The Viktor Orbán Show
Hungary’s prime minister has been jet-setting across the globe to hobnob with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump, while doing his best to provoke European leaders at home. But Orbán’s grandstanding, argues Hungarian writer Sándor Ésik in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, is really just an attempt to mask his growing political weaknesses.
January 2019 JoD Highlighted in the Washington Post
In a follow-up to his widely discussed Washington Post essay “The Strongmen Strike Back,” Robert Kagan recommends the JoD’s January 2019 cluster “The Road to Digital Unfreedom” as a resource on “how new technologies have become tools of dictatorship.”
March 20, 2019
Save la République!
Why Emmanuel Macron’s reelection hangs on him winning support from the very people he has ignored most.
Inside the Fight to Save Israeli Democracy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the public to see his efforts to overhaul the Israeli judiciary as a “reform.” But people have seen it for what it is: a struggle over the very future of democracy itself.
Why Do Militaries Launch Coups?
Coups are a direct assault on democracy. And militaries can be pivotal to whether a coup succeeds or fails. The following Journal of Democracy essays examine what makes coups more likely, and how democracies can keep the military brass from seizing power.
Why Russians Are Souring on Putin’s War
Vladimir Putin wants to stir patriotic fervor for his war in Ukraine. But most Russians don’t think the war is worth the cost, and it’s putting the Kremlin in a bind.
Botswana’s Misunderstood “Miracle”
The country’s 2024 presidential contest was a big surprise, as voters elected a new party for the first time. Despite decades of dominant-party rule, a strong democratic culture has long been ingrained in Botswana.
Can Liberalism Be Saved?
Liberalism is being assailed from left and right, but it has not failed. In the Journal’s newest symposium, five authors grapple with questions of liberalism’s lasting relevance and its challenges for the future.
The Elections That Mattered Most in 2024
The “year of elections” is entering its final stretch, and the contests of 2024 have run the gamut. We saw landslides, charades, and — in democratic and authoritarian settings alike — a fair number of surprises. What were the most significant elections of the year so far?
Why Germans Are Rallying Against the Far Right
Hundreds of thousands of Germans are taking to the streets in protest against the country’s far-right parties. Will it shift the tide or leave Germany further divided?
Venezuela’s Lost Year
A year ago Nicolás Maduro stole Venezuela’s election and entrenched his power by jailing and killing those who opposed him. But the world’s democracies don’t need to sit on the sidelines. Here is how they can raise the costs for Maduro.
How Venezuela Became a Gangster State
Nicolás Maduro is a mafia boss, not a president, and the Venezuelan government is now a criminal enterprise with the power of a state. It poses a threat to democracies everywhere.
Author Interview
New "Democracy Ideas" interview with Steven Heydemann about his JoD article "Tracking the "Arab Spring": Syria and the Future of Authoritarianism."
October 16, 2013
Dangerous Diplomacy: Why Placating Putin Now Could Doom Ukrainian Democracy Later
If the West forces Kyiv to accept Putin’s diplomatic terms, he will have succeeded without firing a shot.