Short features from our April authors
At NPR, Jeff Conroy-Krutz discusses rising support for media crackdowns in Africa, while Jarosław Kuisz and Karolina Wigura consider the appeal of East-Central Europe’s populists in Foreign Policy.
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Minxin Pei’s Essay Featured in the Washington Post
Fareed Zakaria cites Pei’s “China: Totalitarianism’s Long Shadow” to explain the durability of China’s single-party regime.
Why Have People Stopped Trusting Democracy?
Citizens have lost faith in democracy. Misinformation, disinformation, hyperpolarization, and conspiracies, exacerbated by the modern media environment, have heightened distrust and anger. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore these dynamics and the important role ordinary citizens can play in countering democratic erosion.
How Autocrats Peddle Their Influence and Launder Their Reputations
Determined to project their influence abroad, authoritarian regimes are subverting international rules and norms while disguising their misdeeds. The easiest way to do this? Convince the world they are benign, upstanding members of the international community.
Why Poland’s Liberals Lost
The following Journal of Democracy essays chronicle the rise, fall, and resurgence of illiberal populism in Poland, and what it means for the country’s democratic future.
Mexico Just Bulldozed Its Judiciary
Mexico launched a radical overhaul of its judiciary on June 1 with its first-ever judicial election. The controversial plan risks weakening judicial independence, checks on presidential power, and democracy itself.
La destrucción silenciosa de Bolivia
Los bosques amazónicos de Bolivia se están convirtiendo en tierra arrasada, con millones de acres perdidos cada año a causa de incendios descontrolados. Peor aún, este desastre está siendo provocado por un gobierno más interesado en obtener ganancias corruptas que en proteger a su pueblo y su fauna.
Victoria Tin-bor Hui on Hong Kong in the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage
In her recent piece for the Monkey Cage blog, Victoria Tin-bor Hui discusses what the sentencing of Umbrella Movement leaders means for those struggling for democracy in Hong Kong. Read her article on the Umbrella Movement protests from the April 2015 JoD, free of charge through May 24.
Democracy and Political Violence
As political polarization deepens in the world’s democracies, political violence is on the rise. And in the wake of these acts, conspiracy theories often bloom. We offer three essays that look at these forces that threaten to upend democracy, and what must be done to overcome them.
Is Bitcoin Good for Democracy?
Bitcoin is an indispensable tool for political dissidents in the most repressive environments, argue Alex Gladstein and Félix Maradiaga in two recent Journal of Democracy online exclusives. When dictators weaponize the financial system and obstruct all avenues of dissent, digital currency helps activists keep their operations running.
Who Decides What Is Democratic?
The United States, like other polarized democracies, is in turmoil. Increasing radicalism, intolerance, and violence continue to rock the country in the run-up to the November election. These essays reflect on this polarization and how to protect ourselves from the damage it is inflicting.
Who Is South Korea’s New President?
South Koreans just elected a new president. Will he be good for South Korean democracy?
Is Democracy Bad for LGBT+ Rights?
Authoritarians weaponize LGBT+ rights to undermine pluralism and cement their rule. Can democracy still protect and advance these rights? Read about how LGBT+ rights have been both expanded and resisted around the world, and offer ideas for how democracies can defend them.
When Democracy Is on the Ballot
This year of elections, just over halfway through, has been nothing short of dramatic, with shocks, upsets, protests, and political violence — most notably, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last weekend. Democracy is being tested as increasingly polarized voters head to the polls. Will it succumb to division and distrust, or will it withstand its present trials?
Another Sham Election in Belarus
Belarusians headed to the polls this past Sunday to vote for president, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Long-reigning autocrat Alyaksandr Lukashenka has rigged the playing field to guarantee a seventh term.
South Korea’s Political Chaos
In December 2024, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, shocking the world and plunging the country into political turmoil. As Joan Cho and Aram Hur argue in the new issue of the Journal of Democracy, the political chaos has revealed deep-seated divisions within South Korean society and politics.
Why Democracy Survives: A Debate
Even in an era haunted by democratic decline, Jason Brownlee and Kenny Miao find that wealthy democracies are unlikely to collapse in their contribution to the October 2022 Journal of Democracy. Six top experts in the field debate their conclusions.
Is TikTok a Threat to Democracy?
The popular social media app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and used by 170 million Americans, is raising national security questions about data privacy and malign foreign influence.
In Latin America, Democracy Hangs in the Balance
Mexico’s ruling party is using its majority to overhaul democratic institutions. Venezuela’s autocrat, Nicolás Maduro, has been sworn in for a third term after stealing an election he clearly lost. And the legacy of covid-19 is still shaping the region’s politics. The following JoD essays unpack the latest in Latin American democracy.