April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
The Cracked Foundations of the Right to Secede
The claim that ethnic minorities have a moral and legal right to secede from states is a dangerous fiction with perilous implications for divided societies.
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October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
An Accidental Advance? South Africa’s 2009 Elections
The ANC saw its first-ever decline in vote share in South Africa's 2009 parliamentary elections. Will the ANC heed this warning to mend internal divisions and reconnect with voters?
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: writings by Human rights activist Elena Bonner on the situation in Chechnya; the first state address of Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri; the African Union’s New Africa Initiative; Organization of American States General Assembly Resolution 1753.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: imprisoned Chinese dissident Wang Dan’s first press conference; the Declaration of Santiago; “Strategic Initiatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Fundamentals for a New Beginning”; speeches on “Human Rights and Asian Values” given at the 54th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights; a postelection statement by Martin Lee, leader of the…
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the Berlin Declaration; an interview with Thich Quang Do—winner of the 2006 Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for Human Rights Defenders; a speech delivered by Romanian president Traian Băsescu.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009)
A tribute in remembrance of Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009).
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a November 2003 interview with Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize; a September 2003 speech by Hossein Khomeni, grandson of the founder and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran; a September 2003 statement issued by Václav Havel, Arpád Göncz, and Lech Wałęsa, former presidents…
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a victory speech by Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox; a final declaration of a conference entitled “Towards a Community of Democracies”; the “Declaration of Unity” signed by democratic activists from 11 Asian countries.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Maria Ressa’s comments on social media at the 2021 Copenhagen Democracy Summit; NGO statement on the arrest of Algerian human-rights defenders; statement denouncing the dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and the attorney general; letter on the sentencing of a Saudi man for allegedly running a satirical Twitter account.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: President Xi’s Surveillance State
Chinese authorities are wielding facial-recognition software, big-data analytics, and other digital technologies to control China’s citizens by monitoring and assessing their activities, both online and off.
Drowning Democracy
Afghanistan taught us that a firehose of unaccountable aid can destroy a country’s democratic future. In Ukraine, we are making the same mistake all over again. | By Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili and Nataliia Shapoval
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a peace accord between Israel and the PLO; “There is Nothing Love Cannot Face,” a message from the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops; a “Peace Charter” from Chinese prodemocracy activists.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks by Xu Youyu made while accepting the Homo Homini Award on behalf of imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo; the African Union’s decision on the forced resignation of Madagascar’s president; the inaugural address of Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes; ASEAN’s statement condemning Burma’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Bhutan, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Iran, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Nepal, Paraguay, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, Tonga, and Zimbabwe.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in the Central African Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Uganda.
Is Ukraine Too Corrupt to Join the EU?
Despite the country’s steady progress fighting corruption, even in wartime, skeptics warn it’s not enough. But this is just an excuse. Their real concern is how Putin’s Russia would respond.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
India Defies the Odds: Why Democracy Survives
India has long baffled theorists of democracy. Democratic theory holds that poverty, widespread illiteracy, and a deeply hierarchical social structure are inhospitable conditions for the functioning of democracy. Yet except for 18 months in 1975-77, India has maintained its democratic institutions ever since it became independent of Britain in 1947. Over those five decades, there…
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Algeria, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan.