October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
School for Dictators
A review of The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy by William J. Dobson
1482 Results
russia ukraine reddit ukraine russia ukraine russia ukraine russia ukraine more bit.ly/war-in-ukraine-news-live
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
The Return of Dictatorship
Alongside democratic backsliding is another, more pernicious phenomenon: dictatorial drift, where “soft” authoritarian regimes are opting to become highly repressive dictatorships. The West must develop new strategies to defend democracy across the globe.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
How to Fight Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn
As President Erdoğan’s grip on power is slipping, his regime is turning more repressive. But Turkey may still avoid becoming a full-blown autocracy. The opposition is increasingly popular, and there remains a way to tilt the playing field to their advantage.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: Putinism After Crimea
Read the full essay here. “The pursuit of national glory,” which M. Steven Fish counts among the features of Vladimir Putin’s “populism,” is emerging as central to the regime’s legitimation. Unlike previous instances of patriotic mobilization (around the Second Chechen War and the 2008 Georgia war), the current one appears to have evolved into a…
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: An Autopsy of Managed Democracy
Although they have quieted down as quickly as they flared up, the clamorous protests that followed the dishonest Russian legislative elections in December 2011 have essentially destroyed Putin’s regime, the infamous “managed democracy.”
January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Taming Extremist Parties: Lessons from Europe
The history of twentieth-century European communist parties shows that extremists can be moderated by robust democratic institutions. Without them, however, the inclusion of extremist parties may undermine democracy.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
International Forum for Democratic Studies report on "Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence"; Emmerson Mnangagwa's inaugural address as interim president of Zimbabwe; letter from Zimbabwean civil society organizations; address by U.K. prime minister Theresa May; statement by former Soviet political prisoners and dissidents.
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a declaration issued by the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba; an open letter issued by leading democrats decrying Russian president Vladimir Putin’s series of “reforms”; a statement issued by forty leading civil society groups from the Middle East and North Africa; an open letter issued in response to the initiation of criminal…
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominica, Honduras, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.
January 1992, Volume 3, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Argentina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Colombia, India, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Poland, Tadzhikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Zambia.
January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks delivered at a memorial for Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist and human rights advocate murdered in Moscow on October 7; a statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the coup in Thailand; a speech by Felipe Calderón, his first address as Mexico’s president.
The April 2023 Issue
Our just-released April issue, featuring “The Putin Myth” by Kathryn Stoner, is free through May 15.
Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy
In recent years, as leading authoritarian countries such as China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela have become emboldened within the global arena, challenging the liberal international political order, the advanced democracies have retreated rather than responding to this threat.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a joint statement to the Kyrgyz nation issued by the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine; the Madrid Agenda; a letter issued by five hundred Chinese human rights and democracy activists; the third UN Development Programme Arab Human Development Report; a secret audio audio message recorded by Thich Quang Do, deputy leader of the…
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Benin, Comoros, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Panama, Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Thailand, and Ukraine.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, and Thailand.
October 2013, Volume 24, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Russian anticorruption crusader and Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny’s speech; presidential contender Nana Akufo-Addo’s speech conceding the race to John Dramani Mahama and Mahama’s address; remarks by jailed Chinese human-rights activist Xu Zhiyong and essay dedicated to him by lawyer and human-rights activist Teng Biao.
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
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.