Why the German Far Right Is Beginning to Win
For years, they were a fringe vote. Now they are broadening their agenda, tapping into voter frustration, and getting Germans to favor them once again. | Michael Bröning
248 Results
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Why the French Strike
Why are the French protesting this time? Emmanuel Macron is imposing deeply unpopular reforms, and it’s one of the only ways left to check an arrogant and tone deaf president. | Moshik Temkin
Why He May Soon Be Remembered as “Putin the Weak”
The Russian autocrat wanted to go down in history on par with Russia’s greatest leaders. He is increasingly looking like one of its weakest. | Michael McFaul
What the Freedom Agenda Can Still Teach Us
Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time. | Peter Feaver and William Inboden
Is Erdoğan on His Way Out?
The Turkish president came to power as an antiestablishment everyman. Twenty years later he is an authoritarian leader clinging to power. Will the forces that catapulted him to power be his demise? | Philip Balboni
7 Lessons from Turkey’s Effort to Beat a Populist Autocrat
What the opposition did and how Erdoğan managed to escape outright defeat. By Murat Somer and Jennifer McCoy May 2023 Turkey’s hotly contested May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections saw a record turnout of 88.9 percent. Heading into the election, polls had given opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was supported by two alliances of opposition…
Election Results—December 2023
Reports on elections in India, Marshall Islands, and Netherlands.
What Mattered to You in 2023
The ten most-read online exclusives this year focused on the Russia-Ukraine war as well as events in China, Iran, Western Europe, and Latin America.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Yulia Navalnaya’s speech after her husband’s death; Russian human-rights activist Oleg Orlov’s closing court statement; “Dictateur” by Senegalese hip-hop artist and social-justice activist Gunman Xuman; a speech from Mexico’s “March for Democracy”; a letter to Nicaraguans from the Group of 94; “120 Days in Secret Detention” by Chinese activist Li Qiaochu.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
A Hong Kong prodemocracy activist’s statement upon her sentencing; Georgia’s president denounces the election results; Alaa Abd el-Fattah was named Writer of Courage and joint recipient of the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize; an open letter for Xu Zhiyong; and a Nigerian senator condemns the arrests of youth protesters.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Georgian Luka Gviniashvili on protesting the foreign-agent bill; a speech by Evgenia Kara-Murza to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; an Iranian rapper denounces Toomaj Salehi’s death sentence; Carl Gershman on Mário Soares and the fiftieth anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution; a Ugandan political prisoner’s court-martial hearing; María Corina Machado wins the Global…
Is Iran on the Verge of Another Revolution?
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back. | Asef Bayat
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
How Authoritarians Win When They Lose
Turkey’s ruling party has developed a new tool: When its local candidates lose, it dismisses them and appoints its own choice under a guise that maintains the veneer of democracy. It is an autocratic innovation that may soon spread.
Three Essays on the Power of Women
To mark International Women’s Day, the Journal of Democracy looks at how women are shaping the fight for freedom.
Election Results—January 2024
Reports on elections in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Serbia, Sint Maarten, and Taiwan.
Why Vladimir Putin’s Luck Ran Out
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine. | Michael McFaul
Why History Is Repeating Itself in Thailand
Thai politics appears to be in a loop, with the military keeping people’s democratic hopes under wraps. But there is reason to believe the streets won’t be quiet for long.
What Putin Fears Most
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy. 22 February 2022 By Robert Person and Michael McFaul Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has begun. Russian president Vladimir Putin wants you to believe that it’s NATO’s fault. He frequently has claimed (including again in an…
The April 2023 Issue
Our just-released April issue, featuring “The Putin Myth” by Kathryn Stoner, is free through May 15.
How to Dismantle an Illiberal Democracy
There is no clear roadmap. But Poland may be setting out on its first steps in stamping out populism and holding those responsible for the worst violations of the rule of law.