April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Iran’s Paradoxical Regime
Iran’s authoritarianism is more flexible and more durable than its detractors would hope, yet more fragile and endangered than its defenders claim.
1427 Results
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October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
After the Arab Spring: How the Media Trashed the Transitions
The Arab experience shows that the same media that facilitate the toppling of dictators can make it harder to build democracy.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2022: A Turning Point for Global Freedom?
The past year offered the brightest picture in almost two decades, as global improvements in freedom nearly equaled global declines. Is democracy poised for a comeback?
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.
What Kind of State Will Syria Become?
Syria is at a critical juncture. It’s up to the new government — and the people — to chart a more inclusive, transparent, and prosperous way forward. The Journal of Democracy essays below examine the challenges and opportunities Syria now faces.
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Strife and Secession in Sudan
After decades of civil war, Sudan is set to divide into two nations on 9 July 2011. Yet a number of explosive issues—including the drawing of borders and sharing of oil revenue—have still not been resolved, and the prospects for peace appear to be dimming.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
The Myth of Democratic Recession
In contrast to the conventional wisdom that democracy is in retreat worldwide, the evidence tells a different story: The state of global democracy has been stable over the last decade and is actually better than it was in the 1990s.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
Democracy’s Surprising Resilience
Despite worry of an authoritarian resurgence, the vast majority of “third wave” democracies are enduring. Democracy, buoyed by economic growth and urbanization, is outperforming most people’s expectations or fears.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
Making Liberalism Work
Democratic capitalism is in crisis. But if we are looking to salvage liberalism’s ideals, we should look to the course set by postwar Germany. It offers powerful lessons for the present.
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
Aspirations and Realities in Africa: Five Reflections
Three decades after sub-Saharan Africa joined the “third wave,” democracy’s ability to endure has been established in many countries, but its quality remains a grave concern.
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2016: The Dual Threat of Populists and Autocrats
In 2016, established democracies figured prominently on the list of countries experiencing declines in freedom, while emboldened autocracies stepped up their repression at home and interference abroad.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
A Win for Democracy in Sri Lanka
The surprising electoral defeat of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2015 was reinforced by his failed comeback in August parliamentary elections.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
The Weight of Geopolitics
Can democracy prosper when democratic countries are in geopolitical retreat? History cautions against the notion that democracy will inevitably prevail.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
European Disintegration? Warnings from History
The irony at the heart of Europe’s current crisis is that although the EU originated as part of a post-1945 effort to consolidate democracy in Western Europe, the Union’s travails are now pushing the continent in the opposite direction instead.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
Politics in Crisis?
Although politics today is in critical condition—some even say it is dying—it is all the more important to revive it.
April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2
Ballots, Bullets, and the Bottom Billion
Does recourse to the ballot box spur violence and instability in the world’s poorest countries? Despite the worries of modernization theorists such as Paul Collier, the evidence indicates that, over time, elections are not associated with higher levels of political violence.
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
Sri Lanka: From Turmoil to Dynasty
Having only recently emerged from a prolonged and remarkably bitter civil war, Sri Lanka is now slipping steadily under the hardening authoritarian control of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Authoritarianism’s Last Line of Defense
The new electoral authoritarian regimes of the post–Cold War era have formally adopted the full panoply of liberal-democratic institutions. Rather than rejecting or repressing these institutions, they manipulate them.