October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Cambodia, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, and Rwanda.
2855 Results
less and more coffee ii
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.
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.
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.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Weaponizing Interpol
Globalized authoritarian regimes are increasingly abusing Interpol’s notice system to go after political opponents based abroad. These regimes seek not only to punish their critics, but also to legitimate their own acts of repression.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Rise and Fall of Good-Governance Promotion
Anticorruption has become universally accepted as a norm; that may tell us something about why it struggles in practice.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Why Democracy Needs a Level Playing Field
In some countries, democratic competition is undermined less by electoral fraud or repression than by a skewed playing field—unequal access to state institutions, resources, and the media.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
A Quiet Consensus
We welcome the common ground. The challenge ahead is to protect democracies genuinely in peril, while not losing valuable time and resources chasing authoritarian ghosts.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Is Costa Rica’s Democracy Failing?
Although an island of stability and democracy in a region often short of both, Costa Ricans’ faith in government is declining as the challenge of financing its costly welfare state grows. This democratic stalwart is no longer immune to the appeal of populism.
April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2
Another Russia? After the Leviathan
There is a future for democracy in Russia, but it may have to wait until the people begin to feel the problems created by the current system.
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…
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
The Pushback Against Populism: Running on “Radical Love” in Turkey
Is there a recipe for defeating a populist? A novel campaign strategy based on inclusion and public responsiveness may show how to beat the odds in a competitive authoritarian system.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage
International spying and digital subversion used to be the province of governments. Now anyone who has the cash can order hi-tech snooping and surveillance. This is a threat to the future of freedom.