3273 Results
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
East Asia’s “third-wave” democracies are in distress, and the economic success of nondemocratic regimes in the region creates a tough standard for comparison.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
A review of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic, by Mark L. Clifford.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Zimbabwe’s first elections since the November 2017 coup that ousted nonagenarian dictator Robert Mugabe were marred by the abuse of state resources, electoral irregularities, and a tragic bout of postelection violence that saw soldiers use deadly force against civilians.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Mexico’s 2003 congressional elections confirmed both the transition to fully competitive politics and the persistence of structural deficiencies associated with a multiparty presidential system.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
A review of Democracy in Iran: Why It Failed and How It Might Succeed by Misagh Parsa.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Climate change is an urgent and unparalleled threat. Our best hope lies in radical, principled activism — at once more democratic and more authoritarian.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Despite high hopes for progress toward democracy, the military’s power remains stubbornly entrenched, while Aung San Suu Kyi seems to lack the skills to run the government effectively.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Key democratic norms remained under threat in 2018, but there were also unexpected breakthroughs in Armenia, Malaysia, and Ethiopia.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
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.
Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1
A review of Anthills of the Savannah, by Chinua Achebe.
January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
Excerpts from: the farewell speech delivered by the Maldives’ outgoing president and the new executive’s inaugural address; Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo’s inaugural address; several tributes from the memorial service of Bronisław Geremek; an open letter by 109 Iranian university presidents; statements issued for the first International Day of Democracy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist BJP explicitly exclude and routinely attack the country’s largest minority, but the political opposition is silent, too afraid to jeopardize its base of support. These essays explore India’s complex democratic history and its prospects for the future.
Looming “catastrophe” must not be used to justify authoritarianism. Solutions premised on unchecked power would bring their own risks of catastrophe.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
There are two sharply contrasting and controversial perspectives on China’s near- to medium-term future: top-level reform and bottom-up revolution.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Excerpts from: South Korean president Kim Dae Jung’s speech accepting the 2000 Nobel Prize for Peace; the inaugural address of Ghanian president John Kufor; Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inaugural address; the “National Action Charter for the State of Bahrain”; the “Appeal for Democracy” issued on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
Voters in democratic countries often favor political candidates whose relatives were in office before them. When citizens can choose anyone, why in so many of the world’s democracies do they opt for political dynasties?
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back. | Asef Bayat
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Why are authoritarian regimes championing gender equality? Modern dictators want to appear progressive, liberal, and democratic, while distracting from their worst abuses.
July 2015, Volume 26, Issue 3
The post–post-Mao era has now begun. The reforms that brought economic growth and greater openness to China are being unwound, while an assertive new leader strikes off in a populist and nationalist direction.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
Although active or retired military officers still hold top government posts, direct rule by the military as an institution is over, at least for now.
