April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Although Saddam fell twenty years ago, the politicians who have come after him still think like Baathists. But a new generation has begun making itself heard. It believes in Iraq as a nation and it understands democracy as more than a source of spoils to be divided among groups.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Vladimir Putin’s reputation as a skillful leader was buoyed by years of economic good fortune. But when his regime faltered, his rule quickly descended into the fearful, repressive, and paranoid state we see today.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
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.
7 Lessons from Turkey’s Effort to Beat a Populist Autocrat
What the opposition did and how Erdoğan managed to escape outright defeat.
By Murat Somer and Jennifer McCoy
What the Freedom Agenda Can Still Teach Us
Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time.
By Peter Feaver and William Inboden
How Thai Activists Outsmarted the Generals
The regime tilted the playing field to its advantage, but it didn’t matter. Thailand’s opposition won with creativity, shrewd tactics, and a strategy that united the people.
By Srdja Popovic and Steve Parks
May 2023
The forces that brought Erdoğan to power may be his downfall in Turkey’s May 14 elections. Here are a selection of key Journal of Democracy essays from the last two decades of his rule.
April 2023
Our just-released April issue, featuring “The Putin Myth” by Kathryn Stoner, is free through May 15.
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
The case of Hungary shows how autocrats can rig elections legally, using legislative majorities to change the law and neutralize the opposition at every turn, no matter what strategy they adopt.
Volodymyr Zelensky is far more than a brave wartime leader. He began changing the tenor and direction of Ukrainian politics long before the people made him their president.
Why Pakistan Always Seems on the Brink of Collapse
Ahsan I. Butt
The military has spent decades trying to impose order on Pakistani politics. It has led to chaos.
July 2022
Greg Yudin
More than window dressing, public-opinion surveys and elections provide a crucial insight into the Russian people’s relationship with their regime.
Our July 2022 issue, featuring “Do Russians Support Putin?” by Greg Yudin, is now available free of charge.
