Maduro Rules Through Repression
The strongman lost in a landslide, and the Venezuelan people are paying the price.
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why is trump a zionist after being elected
Essential Summer Reads from the JoD
From the early days of this journal to our most recent issue, the JoD editors have compiled ten essays we think you should not miss this summer.
The Clock Is Ticking on the April Issue!
What’s causing the global democratic recession? What would a Ukrainian loss to Russia mean for democracies around the world? How should Syria approach building a just and democratic society? Don’t miss your chance to read the April issue for free!
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: an open letter by the Hong Kong Federation of Students to Chinese premier Li Keqiang; the campaign manifesto of former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who was proclaimed Afghanistan’s president; the third annual Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture; an open letter calling for the release of human-rights activist Liu Xiaobo.
April 1996, Volume 7, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Sergei Kovalev’s letter of resignation from the President’s Human Rights Commission in Russia; Haitian president René Préval’s inaugural address; the initial declaration of the Cuban Council (Concilio Cubano).
China’s Threat to Global Democracy
The Chinese Communist Party is deadly serious about its authoritarian designs, and it is bent on promoting them. It is time for the world’s democracies to get serious, too. | Michael Beckley and Hal Brands
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Can Capitalism Save Democracy?
Capitalism is often blamed for democracy’s ills. But much of the blame is misplaced. It is not business capture of the state but rather state capture of business that poses the greatest danger to democracy.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the forward of the final report of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Chairperson Archbishop Desmond Tutu; a letter to the Vietnamese National Assembly deploring corruption in the Community Party by four Party veterans; an address on democratization in Burma by Kyaw Kyaw of the Thailand-based All Burma Student’s Democratic Front; former…
July 1995, Volume 6, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Argentina, Belarus, Benin, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Peru, Philippines, Zimbabwe.
Mexico’s Democratic Disaster
The country’s outgoing president is determined to bulldoze Mexico’s judicial system. His attack on the rule of law is even worse than most people realize.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Iranians Turn Away from the Islamic Republic
Iran is in the midst of an ideological crisis. Growing numbers of Iranians are rejecting the religious underpinnings of the Supreme Leader’s rule, and turning their backs on the Islamic Republic. The regime’s only response is harsher repression—a response that will deepen the anger that is bringing everyday Iranians out into the streets.
How Women Make the World Safe for Democracy
The suffragists imagined that a greater role for women in democratic politics would lead to a more peaceful world. Few realize how right they were. | Joslyn N. Barnhart and Robert F. Trager
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: “Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibet Situation,” by 29 Chinese intellectuals; a speech given by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso at the formal launch of the European Foundation for Democracy through Partnership; the “State of the Nation” address delivered by the Movement for Democratic Change’s presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai; International Committee…
October 1996, Volume 7, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: testimony delivered at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission; remarks by National Endowment for Democracy president Carl Gershman; remarks delivered at a reception marking the opening of Mongolia’s new parliament.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
When Will the Chinese People Be Free?
Rising levels of wealth and schooling make it highly likely that China will be a "Partly Free" country by 2015 and a "Free" one ten years after that.
Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a declaration by the Federation for a Democratic China; the preamble to the “guiding principles” of the Beijing Works Autonomous Federation; principles accepted by the South West People’s Association, a Namibian political party; a letter by Cardinal František Tomašek; a political program by the Czechoslovak Civic Forum; an announcement by the East German…
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
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…
October 1999, Volume 10, Issue 4
South Africa: Entering the Post-Mandela Era
Post-apartheid South Africa’s democratic quest resembles a good thriller–just as the plot seems clear, a twist appears in the tale.
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Iran’s Peculiar Election: The Struggle Against Sultanism
Given the unaccountable authority of the supreme leader, the Islamic Republic should be classified as a sultanistic regime. In such regimes, democratic change is more likely to come from nonviolent resistance than from internal reform.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
The Long Decline of South Africa’s ANC
After thirty years of ANC dominance, the 2024 elections have ushered in multiparty politics in South Africa. Will the party’s centrist shift be enough to stop its descent, or is it destined to fracture further?