October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Putin’s Path
Although his methods are hardly democratic, Putin’s efforts to strengthen the Russian state may help democracy in the long term.
1714 Results
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October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Going Backwards
A leading Russian oppositionist speaks out against continuing official assaults on self-government and human rights.
April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
Is Russian Democracy Doomed? The Politics of Resentment
Read the full essay here.
April 1993, Volume 4, Issue 2
The Morass in Moscow: The Democrats in Disarray
Read the full essay here.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: Paradoxes of Decline
Read the full essay here. The Russian system of personalized power is growing ever more dependent on the same strategies that proved useless in sustaining the USSR. While the system still has the potential to limp along, its survival tactics render the it progressively more dysfunctional. Among the circumstances weighing against the system’s survival are…
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Russia’s Transition to Autocracy
Just as Russia's leaders pretend that they are ruling over a democracy, they also pretend that they are ruling over an empire.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
Russia’s Nationalists Flirt with Democracy
Russia has witnessed a growing rapprochement between some of its nationalists and some of its democrats, but this trend is threatened by divisions over the annexation of Crimea.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: The Strange Alliance of Democrats and Nationalists
One of the most striking and unexpected features of the recent demonstrations in Russia was the partnership of liberals and nationalists in the ranks of the protesters.
December’s Most-Read Essays
As 2024 draws to a close, democracy faces urgent threats: increasing aggression from Russia and China, rapidly advancing AI, heightened polarization, and populist leaders in India and elsewhere bending democracy to their will. Here are the Journal of Democracy’s ten most-read essays over the past month.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Authoritarian Threat: The Hijacking of “Soft Power”
Although the leading authoritarian regimes are today integrated in many ways into the global system, they have not become more like the democracies; instead, they have been devising policies and practices aimed at blocking democracy’s advance.
April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
Christianity and Democracy: The Ambivalent Orthodox
Orthodoxy’s difficult historical experiences have made it ambivalent toward democatic pluralism, but that may be changing, with believers in established democacies leading the way.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Afghanistan, Colombia, Indonesia, Libya, Mauritania, Slovenia, and Turkey.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Russian Democracy in Eclipse: The Limits of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
Vladimir Putin aspires to be a classic authoritarian modernizer, but in today's globalized world Russia faces challenges that bureaucratic centralization and a traditional strong hand cannot meet.
Why the European Elections Will Test Democracy
The danger is greater than the rise of far-right parties. In fact, there is a risk that in their eagerness to contain the far right, European leaders may do greater damage to democracy itself.
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Belarus, Benin, Chad, Columbia, Comoros, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Hungary, Peru, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Ukraine.
October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Indonesia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Philippines, and Serbia.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nauru, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Ukraine.
April 1999, Volume 10, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in the Central African Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Grenada, Guinea, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.