April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Why Syria’s Civil Society Is the Key
After the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria stands at a crossroads. Nothing is assured, but the country’s civil society is its best hope for charting a democratic future.
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How Autocrats Weaponize AI — And How to Fight Back
Artificial Intelligence has become autocrats’ newest tool for surveilling, targeting, and crushing dissent. But this supercharged technology doesn’t need to favor tyrants. Activists must learn how to harness it in the fight for freedom.
Why Putin’s Days Are Numbered
The system that Russia’s autocrat built wasn’t designed to survive the pressures it is now facing. March 2022 By Vladimir Milov The world’s attention is focused on the immense suffering of the brave Ukrainian people, and rightly so—no words can describe the misery and damage that Vladimir Putin has inflicted upon Ukraine with his unprovoked…
October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
Toward a Science of Ethnic Conflict?
A review of The Deadly Ethnic Riot by Donald L. Horowitz and Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India by Ashutosh Varshney.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
A Model for Post-Saddam Iraq
If Iraq is successfully to democratize and an inclusive democratic culture is to emerge, the Iraqi state must be reconstituted as a federal and strongly liberal system and thoroughly demilitarized.
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
The Role of Elites
A review of Elites and Democratic Consolidation in Latin America and Southern Europe, edited by John Higley and Richard Gunther.
Kazakhstan Rules with Empty Words and an Iron Fist
27 January 2022 By Paolo Sorbello Thousands took to the streets to protest. While the regime promises to listen, its actions make clear: Dissent will not be tolerated. Kazakhstan’s “Bloody January” (Qandy Qantar in Kazakh) began in the western region of Mangistau with a peaceful but powerful protest against a sharp increase in the price…
Why Ukraine Will Win
The country’s military is advancing on the battlefield. If Ukraine defeats Russia’s massive army, the ripple effects will be felt across the globe. | By Francis Fukuyama
How Qatar Became a World Leader in Sportswashing
The government has spent billions preparing to host the 2022 World Cup. Never mind the abusive labor practices and human rights violations. It’s betting that your love of the “beautiful game” will make you more fond of this tiny Gulf state, too.
How Democracy Can Win Out in Sudan
22 November 2021 By Sharan Grewal The country just got a new chance to restore its democratic transition. Here’s how they can ensure that Sudan stays on the right path. One month after being ousted in a military coup, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is back in office. However, his reinstatement has not satisfied protesters.…
Iran Erupts
Iranians are once again flooding the streets in protest. How is this wave of demonstrations different?
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
External Influence and Democratization: The Revenge of Geopolitics
Advancing the democratic cause is threatening to autocrats, and they will fight back.
October 2006, Volume 17, Issue 4
A “Left Turn” in Latin America? Populism, Socialism, and Democratic Institutions
Progressive politics in Latin America inevitably draws from the legacies of socialism and populism, but these categories are not very useful today. Can we find better tools for differentiating Latin America's "multiple lefts"?
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Strengthening Constitutionalism in Asia
Liberal democracy can never put down truly firm roots in Asia unless and until the fundamentals of democratic constitutionalism take hold. There are seven practical imperatives that friends of constitutionalism in the region must pursue.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Progress and Retreat in Africa: Challenges of a “Frontier” Region
In Africa today, investment flows in and civil societies grow stronger, yet many of the continent's leaders continue to behave autocratically, defending their privileges against the spread of law-based rule.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Iraq War and Democratic Backsliding
The global democratic decline of the last two decades is rarely discussed in the same breath with the 2003 decision by the United States and Britain to invade Iraq. But the roots of our present disorder can be traced to that disastrous and foolhardy war of choice.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
How Populism Corrodes Latin American Parties
Unlike in the past, populism in Latin America today is driven mainly by the power of charismatic leaders—and it is eating away at the region’s already weak party system.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Bolsonaro and Brazil’s Illiberal Backlash
The triumph of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s October 2018 presidential election was made possible by a series of economic, social, and political crises that have shaken Brazilian democracy.
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
Nicaragua: A Return to Caudillismo
With the ruling FSLN’s one-sided triumph in the November 2016 elections, Nicaraguan democracy underwent further erosion. The emerging authoritarian party-state, far from being a leftist revolutionary government, is becoming a neopatrimonial dictatorship in an older Latin American style.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Growth, Security, and Democracy in Africa
Democracy’s fortunes rose in Africa in the 1990s, but more recently have been in retreat. The forces of democratic resurgence remain in play, however, as a look at the key case of Nigeria suggests.