October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: The Democrats’ Opportunity
The Burmese transition that began in 2011 will be a protracted process. The main challenge now is to build a state in which democracy can take root and grow.
Articles
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: The Generals Loosen Their Grip
Although active or retired military officers still hold top government posts, direct rule by the military as an institution is over, at least for now.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: A Union for All of Us
Elections alone will not answer the question of how to build a lasting democracy. Minority rights also must be protected.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: Strengthening Civil Society
For the country to develop, it needs an informed and engaged citizenry that has the knowledge and freedom to question those in power.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: The Need for a Political Pact
The hardest work of the transition—negotiating political pacts—has not yet begun. Burma’s democrats must help to forge a system of mutual security that can allow democratization to proceed.
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.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Ethnocracy Trap
A political system in which power is formally divided among ethnic or sectarian groups may seem like a good idea in conflict-ridden societies, but it bears a high price and makes true democratic transition harder to achieve.
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
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
The Transformation of the Arab World
The electoral triumph of Islamist parties has dampened the enthusiasm of democrats for the “Arab Spring.”
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: Implosion, Atrophy, or Revolution?
A newly awakened Russia is now asking of series of questions, such as how to transform the current system and who will be the actors to lead the transformation.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: An Autopsy of Managed Democracy
Although they have quieted down as quickly as they flared up, the clamorous protests that followed the dishonest Russian legislative elections in December 2011 have essentially destroyed Putin’s regime, the infamous “managed democracy.”
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: The Strange Alliance of Democrats and Nationalists
One of the most striking and unexpected features of the recent demonstrations in Russia was the partnership of liberals and nationalists in the ranks of the protesters.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: The Protesters and the Public
After the December 2011 State Duma elections, the Russian opposition and civil society quickly launched large protest rallies in response to electoral fraud.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Putinism Under Siege: Can There Be a Color Revolution?
The recent protests in Russia raise the question of whether the Putin regime could fall to a “color” or electoral revolution like those that have ousted other autocratic regimes in postcommunist Europe and Eurasia over the past decade and a half.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins
Turkey and Thailand, two countries at different corners of the Asian landmass, appear at first glance to be an odd couple, but a closer look at their respective political situations reveals surprising parallels.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
African Elections: Two Divergent Trends
Regular elections have become a fixture of political life throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but there are now “two Africas” in this regard: one where elections bring the blessings of greater political openness and competition, and another where elections are, in effect, one more tool that authoritarians use to retain power.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Oil, Politics, and Ghana’s Democracy
Ghana has won praise for its steady progress toward democratic consolidation. In late 2010 it joined the ranks of the world’s oil producers. Will the democratic institutions be able to resist the “resource curse”?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
The DRC’s Crumbling Legitimacy
On 9 December 2011, incumbent president Joseph Kabila was declared the official winner of the DRC’s deeply flawed presidential election, resulting in a legal president without legitimacy and an uncertain political future.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Senegal: What Will Turnover Bring?
Although Senegal has often been regarded as a democracy, its regime should more properly have been classified as competitive authoritarian. Will the 2012 election of a new president prove to be a turning point?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn: How Things Went Wrong
How has Hungary, initially seen as a leading postcommunist success story, fallen into its current troubles?