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
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October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
A review of The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy by William J. Dobson
Don’t miss these must-read essays from the latest issue of the Journal of Democracy, free for a limited time, on Venezuela, Georgia, Bangladesh, global support for democracy, and more.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
Featuring Canadian deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland’s remarks on defending democracy; a letter by Chinese and Hong Kong socialists on China’s “zero-covid” protests; Shervin Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” the unofficial anthem of the protests in Iran; Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen’s remarks on shoring up democratic resilience in Taiwan and globally; and Gambian human-rights lawyer Fatou Bensouda’s…
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Reports on elections in Armenia, Barbados, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, and South Korea.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Reports on elections in Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Mauritania, Rwanda, and Serbia.
The far-right Alternative for Germany is no longer a mere protest party. It’s tapping into widespread discontent and is surprisingly popular with young voters. Even more, it is reshaping the political future of Germany.
April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2
A review of Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War by Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder
The Russian autocrat wanted to go down in history on par with Russia’s greatest leaders. He is increasingly looking like one of its weakest. | Michael McFaul
Journal of Democracy Web Exchange – Foa and Mounk reply–2_0 Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk–The End of the Consolidation Paradigm: A Response to Our Critics
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
Reports on elections in Benin, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kazakhstan, Niger, Peru, the Philippines, Serbia, and South Korea.
The people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and Prime Minister Robert Fico’s pro-Moscow policies. Once again, Slovaks see their future in Europe, not Russia.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
The Chinese Communist Party wields highly effective means to quash dissent, but Chinese intellectuals and interest groups continue to push for change.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
In certain circumstances, both liberalism and popular rule can obstruct rather than promote state-building.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
The first flush of democratic hopes has faded, as the recent elections have emphasized. But the democratic idea has a foothold, and the presidential machine that swept those elections will not have an easy time retaining its sway.
By Guoguang Wu | Beijing’s focus has been on strong and steady economic growth for decades. But China’s leader has just put an end to that era. For Xi, it’s only about power—at home and abroad.
April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2
Read the full essay here. Twenty years ago, there was a more thoroughgoing political pluralism in Russia than there is today. In some respects, the forms of democracy-including party consolidation-have been enhanced, but they have been so manipulated as to deprive them of substance. Either “electoral authoritarianism” of “multiparty authoritarianism” (Juan Linz’s terms) may reasonably…
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion has exposed the fundamental instability of Putinism. By Kathryn Stoner June 2023 Sitting in exile outside of Russia in 1917, Vladimir Lenin wrote, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Watching Yevgeny Prigozhin’s military rebellion in Russia, one might want to shorten that time frame from…
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Restoring liberalism after illiberalism is no easy task: Leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure. Worse, their illiberal opponents stand to benefit either way.
Romania’s democracy just survived a near-death experience, but it may be more vulnerable going forward. How far can leaders go in defending democracy without compromising their claim to represent the people?