January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
The Curious Case of Finland’s Clean Politics
The case of Finland challenges conventional thinking on clean politics. Can it serve as a model for its more corrupt counterparts?
485 Results
model baleria marces
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
The Remarkable Story of Somaliland
Emerging from one of the world’s most notorious failed states, Somaliland has become an oasis of relative democratic stability in the troubled Horn of Africa. What does its story teach us about democratic state-building?
January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1
Political Engineering in the Asia-Pacific
The 1997 financial crisis undermined the argument for a putative “Asian-style democracy” that prioritized economic development over political liberalization. Yet recent electoral and other reforms have set the stage for the emergence of a genuine “Asian model” of democracy.
October 2006, Volume 17, Issue 4
Favorable Conditions and Electoral Revolutions
Over the past decade, a series of "electoral revolutions" has taken place from Slovakia to Kyrgyzstan. Why has this path to democratization been especially common in the postcommunist region?
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Turkey’s AKP: A Model “Muslim-Democratic” Party?
Is the Islamic-oriented party that has ruled since 2002 really the harbinger of 'Muslim democracy,' or is it something more familiar in Turkish politics: a hierarchical group none too closely in touch with society and overly focused on one man?
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Lula’s Brazil at Midterm
Many saw the election of Workers' Party leader Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva to the Brazilian presidency in October 2002 as the beginning of an era. Two years into his first term, Lula has yet to live up to that expectation.
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
Hong Kong’s Democrats Stumble
The democratic forces had an uphill climb going into the September 2004 legislative elections, but they made unforced errors as well. What were these, and how can the democrats do better next time?
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Secularism, Islamism, and the Future of Turkey
The political struggle between President Erdoğan and opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu is a fierce battle for the country’s democracy. But it goes deeper than that. It is also a struggle between Islamist and secularist visions of Turkey.
JoD Content Available through Apple Books
Readers can download the following articles on iTunes free of charge: Edward Aspinall and Marcus Mietzner, “Southeast Asia’s Troubling Elections: Nondemocratic Pluralism in Indonesia” (October 2019) Rod Alence and Anne Pitcher, “Resisting State Capture in South Africa” (October 2019) Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda, “Sudan’s Uprising: The Fall of a Dictator” (October 2019) Sheri Berman…
Masthead
Editors William J. Dobson and Tarek Masoud Executive Editor Philip J. Costopoulos Senior Editor Tracy Brown Managing Editor Brent Kallmer Associate Editor Lewis Page Engagement Editor Madelyn Dewey Assistant Editor Mary Kate Godfrey Vice-President for Studies and Analysis, NED Christopher Walker Founding Editors Marc F. Plattner and Larry Diamond Editorial Board Steven R. Levitsky and Lucan A.…
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
How to Prevent Political Violence
Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone, have the power to stoke or stamp out this dangerous cycle of violence.
Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1
Why the “Journal of Democracy”
The Journal of Democracy seeks to bridge some of these gaps. We hope that it will help to unify what is becoming a worldwide democratic movement. But like genuine democracy itself, the journal will be pluralistic. Its pages will be open to a wide variety of perspectives and shades of opinion, and it will seek…
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited
"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited is must reading for anyone who considers him- or herself a political economist, and it should also appeal to those probing the uncertainties of contemporary democratization."—Philippe C. Schmitter, Stanford University.
Panel: “Is Democracy in Decline?”
All-star panel discussion "Is Democracy in Decline?" to mark the Journal's 25th anniversary.
January 30, 2015
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Democracy’s Inevitable Elites
Robert Michels’s classic work on the “iron law of oligarchy” can help us to understand why there is so much dissatisfaction with representative democracy.
April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2
Reading Russia: The Rules of Survival
The image of Putin’s Russia as an authoritarian oil state attracts many Western analysts because it seems to carry a promise that falling oil prices will bring regime change. Thus, many were convinced that a major economic crisis would force the Kremlin either to open up the system and allow more pluralism and competition, or…
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
The Rise of “Muslim Democracy”
The incentives created by competitive elections in a number of Muslim-majority countries are fueling a political trend that roughly resembles the rise of Christian Democracy in twentieth-century Europe
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2021: Authoritarians on Offense
In 2021, autocrats’ efforts to reshape the global order enabled heavier repression and brazen power grabs, while democracies faltered. Is this a tipping point?
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
The Future of Platform Power: Reining in Big Tech
Comprehensive regulation can strengthen user rights in the face of tech firms’ exploitative practices.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: The Threat of Postmodern Totalitarianism
There is a growing sense today that democrats worldwide are in a race against time to prevent cyberspace from becoming an arena for surveillance, control, and manipulation.