April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
America’s Crisis of Civic Virtue
The problem for democracy today is not capitalism; it is a decline in public honesty and civility. But there is an opportunity to revive our sense of national community, if we seize it.
783 Results
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The problem for democracy today is not capitalism; it is a decline in public honesty and civility. But there is an opportunity to revive our sense of national community, if we seize it.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
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.
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
Popular dissatisfaction and tensions within the long-ruling EPRDF have led to the rise of a young reformist leader who has begun a course of bold reversals in favor of greater freedom and openness.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Excerpts from: a videotaped message by leader of the National League for Democracy of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi; remarks and a draft resolution on Cuba from the 56th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights; Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian’s inaugural address; Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inaugural address; a statement from Elena Bonner; the…
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
The recognition of democracy as a universally relevant system is a major revolution in thinking, and one of the main contributions of the twentieth century. While not yet universally practiced, democracy is now being taken as generally right.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
In the decade leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, nonviolent civil resistance grew more popular than ever—but its effectiveness had already started to plummet. The future of nonviolent resistance may depend on movements’ ability to move beyond mass protests toward exploring alternative tactics and developing smarter, longer-term strategies.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
The covid-19 pandemic nearly upended the U.S. election, but after a rocky primary season changes were made to save it. Alarmingly, however, a large portion of voters have rejected the result. The challenge of overcoming lies about a “rigged” election is great.
Last month Rio’s police conducted the deadliest police operation in Brazil’s history, killing 117 people. It is one episode in a long history of state violence. Not only are such iron-fisted methods ineffective, they pose a danger for democracy itself.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
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.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
The gilets jaunes movement erupted suddenly but has now apparently subsided without leaving a significant impact on electoral politics. Yet the tensions that gave rise to the working-class protests remain strong and are reshaping the political landscape of a divided France.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
Despite current trends, Chinese thinkers friendly to human rights and liberal democracy have left behind a treasury of thought from which their country may one day draw new inspiration.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
For years Kenya was regarded as one of Africa’s sturdiest democracies. The fraudulent 2007 presidential election, however, exposed the fragility of Kenya’s democratic framework.
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Nepal’s people find themselves caught in an ugly struggle between two antidemocratic ideologies—royal absolutism and Maoism. What happened?
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
Analysis that subtly defines away problems is not going to help democracies survive the threats they now face. The fear is warranted.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
The “third wave” of democracy started in 1974 — or so the story goes. But the crests and crashes of waves of democracy and authoritarianism have been neglected. A close look can help us understand the current moment, when democracy appears to be in retreat.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
After Mao, Deng Xiaoping tried to institutionalize collective leadership, but this did not stop Xi Jinping from grasping all the levers of power.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
President Kais Saied’s power grab has crushed Tunisian democracy, returning the country to the old playbook of Arab dictators past and present.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
A decade ago, Arab peoples stood up and sought to replace their rulers with a more democratic political project. But Arab autocrats have a project of their own. Can the people gain ground in the struggle for self-government, or will their rulers bear it away?
October 1996, Volume 7, Issue 4
Read the full essay here.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to seize new ground and promote China’s global influence. But their assertive, strong-arm tactics are born from fear and restless insecurity.