The Life of the Party
Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.
1720 Results
glove collectors society 1989 2019 US president DG JI
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Sri Lanka: The Return to Ethnocracy
The return to power, via elections, of the Rajapaksa family signals the consolidation of a Sinhalese Buddhist ethnocracy. But there are reasons to hope it will not take a turn toward full despotism.
January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
Can Cuba Change? Ferment in Civil Society
The opposition within Cuba has become more diverse as well as more unified, and the regime, despite its enduring capacity for repression, is showing signs of underlying weakness.
Iran Erupts
Iranians are protesting their regime. Why it will only get worse for the mullahs. | By Peyman Asadzade
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Zelensky Has Changed Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky is far more than a brave wartime leader. He began changing the tenor and direction of Ukrainian politics long before the people made him their president.
Democracy’s Most Dangerous Assumptions
Online Exclusive by Daniel Fried | It is tempting to believe the horrors of the past will not haunt our future. Vladimir Putin is proving that we hold such beliefs at our peril.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Algeria: When Elections Hurt Democracy
Algeria’s massive wave of protesters wanted to put an end to sham elections. While the leaderless movement succeeded for a time, its failure showcased the lengths to which a country’s ruling elite will go to maintain its hold on power.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Cambodia’s Transition to Hegemonic Authoritarianism
A crackdown on the opposition, followed by sham parliamentary elections in July 2018, has deepened and extended the decades-long personalist dictatorship of Hun Sen.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights
It is imperative that artificial intelligence evolve in ways that respect human rights. Happily, standards found in landmark UN documents can help with the task of making AI serve rather than subjugate human beings.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Leninist Legacies, Pluralist Dilemmas
To understand how East-Central European societies have evolved since 1989, we must understand the building blocks that contribute to the establishment and functioning of open societies.
January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a speech delivered in North Korea by Mongolian president Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj; Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech honoring Václav Havel; the joint statement of governments participating in a meeting on the growth of restrictions on civil society globally; the charter of the newly formed Asia Democracy Network.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
India Defies the Odds: Making Federalism Work
To understand how India’s democracy works, and how it manages demands from social groups for greater power, resources, autonomy, and respect, it is essential to understand Indian federalism. That, in turn, requires us to address two questions. First, why have relations between New Delhi and the various state governments (there are at present 25) usually…
July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: South African President Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech; Salvadoran president Armando Calderón Sol’s inaugural speech; a presentation speech by Yelena Bonner, the widow of Andrei D. Sakharov.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Southeast Asia’s Troubling Elections: Duterte versus the Rule of Law
The first half of President Rodrigo Duterte’s single six-year term saw steady erosion of legal barriers against abuses of power, typified by a bloody and extralegal “drug war.” Yet in midterm Senate elections, Filipino voters gave him a decisive victory.
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
The Decay of the Central American Left
Following the settlement of the revolutionary conflicts that long plagued the region, the left was able to reach power through elections. But the results have been discouraging.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Flirting with Disaster
A review of The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present by David Runciman.
The Curse of the Ex-Presidents
Online Exclusive by Casey Cagley | Across Latin America, former leaders are keeping a chokehold on their countries’ politics. It’s time their successors break free.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
How to Prevent Political Violence
Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone, have the power to stoke or stamp out this dangerous cycle of violence.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
China’s Pandemic Power Play
President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to seize new ground and promote China’s global influence. But their assertive, strong-arm tactics are born from fear and restless insecurity.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Viral Alarm: When Fury Overcomes Fear
The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the corrupt and rotten core of the Chinese Communist Party’s dictatorial rule over China. It is a moment of revelation. Can it also become one that leads to change?