How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia
In a matter of weeks, the Russian autocrat has erased his country’s prosperity in a feckless attempt to rebuild a doomed empire. | By Kathryn Stoner
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Summer 1991, Volume 2, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement party program; the “Mexico Declaration” on the civil war in El Salvador; the manifesto of Kenya’s newly launched “National Democratic Party”; Freedom House president Max Kampelman’s remarks on the Dalai Lama.
What the Freedom Agenda Can Still Teach Us
Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time. | Peter Feaver and William Inboden
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Second Elections in Africa
The early 1990s saw a wave of competitive multiparty elections in Africa. These contests can be described as "founding" elections in the sense that they marked for various countries a transition from an extended period of authoritarian rule to fledgling democratic government. By the middle of the 1990s, this wave had crested. Although founding elections…
Is Iran on the Verge of Another Revolution?
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
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
The Enduring Vulnerability of Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy has drawn its share of false indictments. But like any form of government, it has genuine weaknesses that can at best be managed. How well liberals navigate these inherent tensions may help determine the future of freedom.
Why Vladimir Putin’s Luck Ran Out
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine. | Michael McFaul
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. | Natan Sachs
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Argentina, Botswana, Central African Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Namibia, Niger, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Yemen.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
How to Compete in Unfair Elections
Opposition movements often boycott rigged polls rather than risk legitimizing an autocrat. It is usually a mistake. Here is the playbook for how one opposition seized the advantage.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
The Authoritarian Roots of India’s Democracy
To say that Indian democracy is backsliding misunderstands the country’s history and the challenges it faces: A certain authoritarianism is embedded in India’s constitution and political structures.
April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Autocratic Legalism in Venezuela
Why do some hybrid regimes remain stable over time, while others become more authoritarian? Venezuela’s autocratic turn has been driven by the ruling party’s declining electoral fortunes and by a foreign policy that has shielded it from international scrutiny.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Latin America’s Authoritarian Drift: The Threat from the Populist Left
The left-populist authoritarianism that is taking hold across a swath of Latin America bears many resemblances to the rightist populism that was once widespread in the region. There are signs, however, that the leftist variant will be an even bigger problem for liberal democracy. Listen to the podcast.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Nicaragua: Progress amid Regress?
Despite increasing authoritarian tendencies at the national level, there are signs that Nicaragua has been making democratic advances at the local level.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
How to Confront No Ordinary Danger
Climate change is an urgent and unparalleled threat. Our best hope lies in radical, principled activism — at once more democratic and more authoritarian.
October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Cambodia, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, and Rwanda.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Carl Gershman and the Struggle for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy’s founding president made enormous contributions to the fight for freedom and human rights. Reflections on what his 37-year tenure meant for the democratic cause—and this journal.
The Kremlin Emboldened: Paradoxes of Decline
The Russian system of personalized power is growing ever more dependent on the same strategies that proved useless in sustaining the USSR. While the system still has the potential to limp along, its survival tactics render the it progressively more dysfunctional. Among the circumstances weighing against the system’s survival are the unintended yet logical consequences…