3273 Results
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
The 2004 elections saw the defeat of the former communists who ruled Romania for most of the period since the fall of communism. Will the country's new, democratic, and pro-European government be able to break with the semi-authoritarian habits of its postcommunist predecessors?
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Indonesia is widely lauded as a democratic success story for rolling back the military, keeping radical Islam in check, and institutionalizing democratic freedoms. But this success has had costs in terms of democratic quality.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
In three of the six democracies surveyed by the East Asia Barometer, a majority of respondents prefer democracy to its alternatives. In the other three, however, a lingering nostalgia for authoritarianism stands in the way of democratic consolidation.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
As China’s power grows, will it seek to remake the world in its authoritarian image? For now, China shows no such missionary impulse, but the ways in which it pursues its interests can still threaten the fate of democracy.
April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2
Excerpts from: an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin in response to the decision to close the Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship; a message delivered by Democratic Republic of the Congo president Joseph Kabila acknowledging his victory in the 2006 elections.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Read the full essay here. Political Islam is often cited as the key challenge to democratization in Muslim nations, but deep currents of authoritarianism may prove more of an obstacle. Traditions of monarchy, military rule, and weak civic institutions block the path of democratic transition throughout the Muslim world. Political Islam does of course present…
Since the internet’s arrival in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1994, digital technologies have provided a critical channel of communication for Chinese citizens. In an environment where speech and access to information are heavily restricted, the internet has enabled citizens to get uncensored news, speak their minds, and even organize protests. Over the…
Syria is at a critical juncture. It’s up to the new government — and the people — to chart a more inclusive, transparent, and prosperous way forward. The Journal of Democracy essays below examine the challenges and opportunities Syria now faces.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
A review of The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Peter Popham.
China’s totalitarian regime is built on surveillance, censorship, and repression, with harsh penalties for anyone who dares to defy it. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have ambitions that extend beyond China’s borders. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore how China undermines democracy both at home and abroad. Read for free now.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
A number of countries including Russia and post-Mubarak Egypt are taking aggressive steps to limit or stop foreign funds from flowing to domestic NGOs that promote human rights and democracy. What is driving this trend, how far will it go, and what can be done to counter it?
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
A trio of national ballotings in 2019 tell a tale of waxing authoritarianism in Southeast Asia, but things could have turned out worse.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
In order to mark democracy’s progress and to inform policy, we need to be able to measure democracy in sufficient detail. The V-Dem Project aims to deliver exactly such a tool.
October 1997, Volume 8, Issue 4
Read the full essay here.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
China’s 1989 democracy movement was brutally suppressed, but a former student leader argues that it also planted the seeds for the growth of Chinese civil society and for future democratization.
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. | Natan Sachs
How does a Russian autocrat celebrate Victory Day while losing a war? Expect lies, myths, and propaganda. May 2022 By Olexiy Minakov Every year on May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day to mark the 1945 triumph of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazism. The spirit of militant Russian patriotism reaches its apogee on…
Winter 1991, Volume 2, Issue 1
Excerpts from: the Madrid Declaration; Popular Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) party president Ivan Drach’s speech to the Congress; the Charter of Paris.
While widespread violence or civil war was averted, the consequences for Russia—and Putin—could be grave.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Excerpts from: Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s farewell remarks and remarks by his successor, Vladimir Putin; a summary of Chechen foreign minister Ilyas Ahmadov’s remarks at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute; a speech by East Timorese independence leader Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão; a victory speech by Chilean president Ricardo Lagos; a speech by Argentinian president Fernando de…
