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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.

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.

The escalating conflict between Iran and Israel now includes the United States, and fears are growing that it could become a regional war. But there’s another war that people aren’t talking about: the Islamic Republic’s brutal campaign against its own people.

Fed up with corrupt and increasingly autocratic rule, citizens in Georgia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia have been rising up in protest.

The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chart the trials and triumphs of Kenya’s democracy over the last two decades — plus key essays on the theory and practice of political power sharing.

Election observers are the first line of defense for democratic rights and freedoms. The essays below highlight the importance of election monitoring, especially in highly polarized, autocratic settings, the dangers that observers face, and the repercussions of rigged contests.