October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Iran’s Peculiar Election: The Role of Ideology
The election results reflect less what voters want than the ideological dynamics that shape the behavior of factions within the regime.
2420 Results
person elected at minimum age nickname infant device position created self-deprecating slogan 2019 article
April 1996, Volume 7, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Sergei Kovalev’s letter of resignation from the President’s Human Rights Commission in Russia; Haitian president René Préval’s inaugural address; the initial declaration of the Cuban Council (Concilio Cubano).
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
The Politics of Personality in Brazil
Dilma Rousseff won the 2010 presidential election as the handpicked successor of a towering political personality. Now she must assert firm sway over a ruling party and coalition to which she has remarkably slender ties, and face new challenges that her country cannot meet with “more of the same.”
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.
The Curse of the Ex-Presidents
Online Exclusive by Casey Cagley | Across Latin America, former leaders are keeping a chokehold on their countries’ politics. It’s time their successors break free.
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a statement by Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charches of “inciting subversion of state power”; the inaugural address of Honduran president Porfirio Lobo; a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Lawyers for Democracy; the inaugural address of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Do Muslims Vote Islamic?
Those who warn against efforts to promote free elections in Muslim-majority countries often point to the threat posed by Islamic parties that stand ready to use democracy against itself. But what does the record really show regarding the ability of Islamic parties to win over Muslim voters?
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
Are Strong Parties the Answer?
A review of Responsible Parties: Saving Democracy from Itself by Frances McCall Rosenbluth and Ian Shapiro.
Why Indonesia’s Democracy Is in Danger
Indonesian voters have made Prabowo Subianto, a special-forces commander with a dark past, their next president. Even as voters flocked to the polls, his election is a harbinger of democracy’s decline.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: an open letter by the Hong Kong Federation of Students to Chinese premier Li Keqiang; the campaign manifesto of former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who was proclaimed Afghanistan’s president; the third annual Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture; an open letter calling for the release of human-rights activist Liu Xiaobo.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Argentina: Peronism Returns
Out of power and with promises to jumpstart a lagging economy, the fractured Peronists reunified and reclaimed the presidency. Now they must deliver what voters want.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: The Declaration of Free Citizens by Vietnamese bloggers; Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; a letter issued by the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Colombo; the inaugural address of South Korean president Park Geun-hye; a speech given by Shin Dong-hyuk who fled North Korea.
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Cambodia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Pakistan, Rwanda, Swaziland, Turkey, and Zimbabwe.
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.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
India’s Endangered Democracy
Shortcomings in governance and electoral administration may be accelerating India’s slide to autocracy. Were these flaws embedded in Indian democracy from the start?
July 1996, Volume 7, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Albania, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Suriname, Taiwan, Uganda, Western Samoa, Zimbabwe.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Revisiting Florida 2000: Insights from India
Read the full essay here.
July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
Explaining Eastern Europe: The Crisis of Liberalism
Thirty years ago in Central and Eastern Europe, belief in an open society and a sense of reasserted national and indeed European identity seemed to go hand-in-hand. But that was then.