January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: Does China Fit the Model?
China has seen a staggering number of official corruption cases in recent years. But does it merit the label of kleptocracy?
2036 Results
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January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Exchange: How to Tell Nativists from Populists
Contra Ben Margulies, one can clearly mark the boundaries that separate antidemocrats from democrats (nativists included), and nativists from populists.
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
The Rise of Referendums: Elite Strategy or Populist Weapon?
Political elites once held referendums to fend off challenges to European integration. More recently, Euroskeptic parties have employed referendums to batter down the walls of elite consensus. But the spread of referendums threatens to undermine the legitimacy of representative democracy.
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
Ghana: The Ebbing Power of Incumbency
Despite pre-election fears, the victory of the opposition NPP over the ruling NDC in Ghana’s December 2016 elections became the prologue to a peaceful transfer of power. This outcome suggests that the advantage of incumbency in African elections may be on the wane.
January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1
The Never-Boring Balkans: The Elections of 2016
Once Europe’s most painful “problem” area, the Balkans have managed to make strides toward stability, democracy, and integration into the West over the last fifteen or so years. But Moscow is becoming increasingly active in the region, and the durability of these gains should not be taken for granted.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Specter Haunting Europe: “Heritage Populism” and France’s National Front
Once a protest party, the right-wing National Front has sought to recast itself for electoral success. How will Marine Le Pen fare in the 2017 presidential race?
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
The Struggle Over Term Limits in Africa: A New Look at the Evidence
There is strong empirical evidence to support the correlation between effective term limits and the quality of democracy.
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2015: Anxious Dictators, Wavering Democrats
In 2015, the tenth consecutive year of decline in global freedom, the world was battered by overlapping crises, spurring harsh authoritarian crackdowns and revealing the leading democracies’ lack of conviction.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Authoritarian Threat: The Hijacking of “Soft Power”
Although the leading authoritarian regimes are today integrated in many ways into the global system, they have not become more like the democracies; instead, they have been devising policies and practices aimed at blocking democracy’s advance.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Authoritarian Threat: Weaknesses of Autocracy Promotion
While “autocracy promotion” presents a real danger, its influence so far has been limited. Because authoritarian regimes are concerned first with furthering their own interests, their interventions often have contradictory effects, sometimes even inadvertently fostering greater pluralism.
October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
After the Arab Spring: Do Muslims Vote Islamic Now?
Islamic political parties were not especially popular with voters in Muslim-majority countries before the Arab Spring. Has that changed?
October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
After the Arab Spring: Are Secular Parties the Answer?
A close look at secular parties in the Middle East today raises doubts about whether they are ready for prime time.
April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Iran Abroad
The Iranian regime has sought to recast conventional principles of human rights and political participation by forging alliances with like-minded regimes and by broadcasting its narrative to an international audience.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
India’s Watershed Vote: What It Means for the Economy
Modi promised “good days” to aspiring young Indians, and they voted for him in droves. But he is off to a slow start in carrying out the economic reforms necessary to ensure that better days lie ahead.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Euroskepticism Arrives: Marginal No More
The European Parliament elections of May 2014 were not an “earthquake,” but they did signal that Euroskeptic parties are drawing closer to the European political mainstream.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Euroskepticism Arrives: The Missing Debate
Disagreements over how much power should reside in Brussels must be allowed to become a normal aspect of debates about European affairs.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Manipulating Term Limits in Latin America
More and more Latin American countries have sought to relax or even eliminate presidential term limits. What are the consequences for democracy?
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The Maidan and Beyond: The Media’s Role
Media, both new and traditional and both Russian and Ukrainian, played a major role in the EuroMaidan story from the very outset.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Shifting Tides in South Asia: India and Its Neighbors
Home to about a quarter of the world’s people, South Asia presents a murky and not very encouraging picture when it comes to democracy.
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.