October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
The Quality of Democracy: The Ambiguous Virtues of Accountability
A ket to “modern representative political democracy” is accountability, but the task of assessing it must be carefully thought through.
2745 Results
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January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Transition Leaders Speak
A review of Democratic Transitions: Conversations with World Leaders, edited by Sergio Bitar and Abraham F. Lowenthal.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Lessons from Latin America: Democratic Breakdown and Survival
Why do democracies survive or fail? An empirical study of Latin America finds that the fate of democracies depends largely on the regional political context, as well as the level of actors’ commitment to democracy and policy moderation.
January 2012, Volume 23, Issue 1
Debating Electoral Systems: Getting Majoritarianism Right
Contrary to popular wisdom, emerging democracies might be better off with a majoritarian electoral system rather than one based on proportional representation.
April 1993, Volume 4, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: speeches from El Salvador’s National Reconciliation Day ceremonies; the Mozambique’s General Peace Accord; South Korean president Kim Young Sam’s inaugural address; Chakufwa Chihana’s speech accepting the 1992 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.
October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
Exploring “Non-Western Democracy”
Often called for but seldom defined with any precision, “non-Western democracy” could end up giving cover to authoritarianism, but also could allow potentially useful democratic innovations to be tried and tested.
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Latin America’s New Turbulence: Trouble in the “Northern Triangle”
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are weighed down by high crime, sluggish economies, and heavy reliance on remittances. And when significant political change has taken place, it has resulted in frightening political fragmentation.
July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3
Acts of Resistance in China
A review of China's Long March to Freedom: Grassroots Modernization by Kate Zhou.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
China’s Long March to Freedom
China is gradually changing. In the coming years, the pursuit of individual dignity and human rights will increasingly come to the fore.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
When Will the Chinese People Be Free?
Rising levels of wealth and schooling make it highly likely that China will be a "Partly Free" country by 2015 and a "Free" one ten years after that.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
A Reply to My Critics
A liberal society must reckon the demands of the common good, while offering what we most crave—something worth sacrificing for.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
The Constitutionalization of Democracy
Is politics an arena without rules? No, and, increasingly, many are enshrined in constitutions. But countries that hardwire their political process into their founding charters face other risks.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Coup in Tunisia: Transition Arrested
Tunisia’s once-promising democratic transition had long failed to de-liver on its promises. It was a crisis waiting to be exploited. Kais Saied is simply the man who set it aflame.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Exchange: Why the Future Cannot Be Predicted
Christian Welzel’s case for a democratic future is based on the mistaken notion that opinion surveys can see the future. It is no more true today than it ever was.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
The Future of Platform Power: Fixing the Business Model
To stop surveillance capitalism, take aim at the targeted advertising that fuels it.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Making the Internet Safe for Democracy
The outsized power of large internet platforms to amplify or silence certain voices poses a grave threat to democracy. Finding a reliable way to dilute that power offers the best possible solution.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Sri Lanka: The Return to Ethnocracy
The return to power, via elections, of the Rajapaksa family signals the consolidation of a Sinhalese Buddhist ethnocracy. But there are reasons to hope it will not take a turn toward full despotism.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Defunding Dissent: Restrictions on Aid to NGOs
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 2010, Volume 21, Issue 4
The Meanings of Democracy: Solving an Asian Puzzle
Over the years, the Asian Barometer Survey has yielded some surprising results. A new typological analysis helps to make sense of them.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
China Since Tiananmen: The Labor Movement
Read the full essay here. The twenty years since 1989 have brought two major developments in worker activism. First, whereas workers were part of the mass uprising in the Tiananmen Movement, there is today hardly any sign of mobilization that transcends class or regional lines. Second, a long-term decline in worker power at the point…