April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Confronting Authoritarianism
In May 2018, the people of Malaysia transcended distinctions of class, religion, and ethnicity in order to vote for democracy and reform against a long-ruling party riddled with corruption.
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April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Armies and Revolutions
A key factor in determining the success or failure of revolutions is how the national armed forces react. What are the keys to making accurate predictions about what the soldiers will do when the fate of a regime hangs in the balance?
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Defending Democracy Within the EU
Should Brussels intervene to protect democracy within EU member states? Does Europe have the tools it would need to do so effectively? Recent developments in Hungary and Romania show the importance of addressing these questions sooner rather than later.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: An Autopsy of Managed Democracy
Although they have quieted down as quickly as they flared up, the clamorous protests that followed the dishonest Russian legislative elections in December 2011 have essentially destroyed Putin’s regime, the infamous “managed democracy.”
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Democratization by Elections? Competitive Clientelism in the Middle East
Legislative elections in the Middle East often become contests over patronage and wind up reinforcing authoritarian regimes.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
A New Look at Ethnicity and Democratization
Conventional scholarly wisdom holds that ethnic diversity within a given society generally dims democracy’s prospects. Careful reflection on the experience of many post-Soviet states, however, suggests that this need not be so.
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.
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
The Real Lessons of the Interwar Years
Analogies with interwar Europe are often misdirected. In the 1920s and 1930s, regime breakdowns occurred in struggling new democracies, but established democratic systems exhibited remarkable endurance.
April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2
Another Russia? Battling KGB, Inc.
The Putin regime is plunging Russia into a deepening crisis. It is time to end the fiction that today's Russia is a democracy.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
European Disintegration? A Fraying Union
Contrary to the expectations of some democratic theorists, the EU will not collapse because of the “democratic deficit” of European institutions. Nor will it be saved by the democratic mobilization of civil society. Paradoxically, it is widespread disillusionment with democracy—the shared belief that national governments are powerless in the face of global markets—that may be…
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: Implosion, Atrophy, or Revolution?
A newly awakened Russia is now asking of series of questions, such as how to transform the current system and who will be the actors to lead the transformation.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: What Is Putinism?
Under Vladimir Putin, Russia’s ruling class again claims to represent a superior alternative to liberal democracy. How can we theorize this regime? Putinism is a form of autocracy that is conservative, populist, and personalistic. Its conservatism means that Putinism prioritizes maintaining the status quo and avoiding instability. Conservatism also overlaps with Putinism’s populism in crowd-pleasing broadsides against gay rights and feminism, but gives…
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Iraq’s Year of Rage
Iraqis of all ethnic and sectarian stripes are fed up with the ineptitude and corruption of their political leaders, parties, and government institutions.
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
Do New Democracies Support Democracy? Reluctant India
Though justly vaunted as the world’s largest democracy, India will in all likelihood remain reluctant to take on the mantle of “democracy promoter” for a mix of historical, ideological, and strategic reasons.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The Ups and Downs of Islamism
A review of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East by Shadi Hamid.
January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1
The Legacies of 1989: Bulgaria’s Year of Civic Anger
In 2013, Bulgaria’s historically passive citizenry exploded in outrage over soaring energy bills and shady elite actions. What does Bulgaria’s year of protest tell us about how civic anger is generated and when it becomes a transformative political resource?
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The Limits of Liberalism
The liberal emphasis on unhindered mobility comes with costs, particularly for those unable to leave.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Liberalism as Fortress and Prison
The power of liberalism—though limited and never revered—enables it to serve as refuge while taming the demons of liberal society.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
Democracy’s Surprising Resilience
Despite worry of an authoritarian resurgence, the vast majority of “third wave” democracies are enduring. Democracy, buoyed by economic growth and urbanization, is outperforming most people’s expectations or fears.