Larry Diamond

Larry Diamond is senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. The January 2022 issue is his last after 32 years as coeditor of the Journal of Democracy.
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January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1

Facing Up to the Democratic Recession

Democracy has been in a global recession for most of the last decade, and committed and resourceful engagement by the established democracies is necessary to reverse this trend.

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July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3

Liberation Technology

The Internet, mobile phones, and other forms of “liberation technology” enable citizens to express opinions, mobilize protests, and expand the horizons of freedom. Autocratic governments are also learning to master these technologies, however. Ultimately, the contest between democrats and autocrats will depend not just on technology, but on political organization and strategy.

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January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1

Why Are There No Arab Democracies?

Democracy has held its own or gained ground in just about every part of the world except for the Arab Middle East. Why has this crucial region remained such infertile soil for democracy?

July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3

Is Pakistan the (Reverse) Wave of the Future?

Pakistan’s descent into authoritarian rule starkly depicts the “triple crisis of governance” that threatens many third-wave democracies. If these problems of governance are not addressed, a new “reverse wave” of democratization could be imminent.

July 1996, Volume 7, Issue 3

Is the Third Wave Over?

Democracy’s global advance is facing headwinds, but there are still opportunities for progress in pseudodemocratic and authoritarian states.

Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1

Why the “Journal of Democracy”

The Journal of Democracy seeks to bridge some of these gaps. We hope that it will help to unify what is becoming a worldwide democratic movement. But like genuine democracy itself, the journal will be pluralistic. Its pages will be open to a wide variety of perspectives and shades of opinion, and it will seek…


Democracy in Decline?

For almost a decade, Freedom House’s annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. Some analysts say this shows that the world has entered a "democratic recession." Others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing democracy’s success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Liberation Technology

"Liberation technology" can help mobilize citizen protest and oust autocracies. Authoritarians can also use technology to stifle protest and target dissenters. Who will win the technological race between "netizens" demanding freedom and authoritarians determined to stay in power?

Civil-Military Relations and Democracy

"Provides a wealth of information and some fresh thinking on the role of the military and civil-military relations in many parts of the world. The intellectual quality of most contributions is high and they are concise and well-written."—Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

Democracy in East Asia

"Asian and non-Asian authors debate the desirability of democracy in East Asia… The two editors… do an excellent job introducing the issues, ideas, and approaches of the fifteen authors."—Foreign Affairs

Political Parties and Democracy

Political parties are one of the core institutions of democracy. But in democracies around the world, there is growing evidence of low or declining public confidence in parties. But are they in decline, or are they simply changing their forms and functions?

Democracy after Communism

Is the challenge of building and consolidating democracy under postcommunist conditions unique, or can one apply lessons learned from other new democracies? The essays collected in this volume explore these questions, while tracing how the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have fared in the decade following the fall of communism.

How People View Democracy

No serious student of democracy can afford to be without this book. It offers an original and comprehensive view of what citizens around the world think as democracy's global "third wave" prepares to enter its fourth and perhaps most challenging decade.

Democracy: A Reader

With such influential contributors as Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Anwar Ibrahim, this is an indispensable resource for students of democracy and instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels.