Author: Mark Tessler | Journal of Democracy

Mark Tessler is Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan and co-director of the Arab Barometer Survey.

October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4

New Findings on Arabs and Democracy

The second wave of the Arab Barometer reveals strong and steady support for democracy in the Arab World but a deficit in democratic culture.

April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2

Public Opinion and Democratic Legitimacy

Do young democracies have to "deliver the goods" economically in order to win political legitimacy in their citizens' eyes? Public opinion data from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Arab world suggest some fascinating answers.

January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1

The Democracy Barometers (Part II): Attitudes in the Arab World

Findings from the Arab Barometer say little about whether there are likely to be transitions to democracy in the Arab world in the years ahead, but they do offer evidence that citizens' attitudes and values are not the reason that authoritarianism has persisted.

January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1

Getting to Arab Democracy: What Do Iraqis Want?

There is a widespread desire for democracy among the Iraqi public, but when it comes to the roles of religion, ethnicity, and gender equality in Iraq's new democracy, attitudes are more varied.

July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3

Gauging Arab Support for Democracy

Despite some moves toward liberalization in the past three decades, all Arab-majority countries remain authoritarian. Nonetheless, opinion surveys show that popular support for democracy in this part of the world is high.

Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World

The uprisings that swept the Arab world beginning in 2010 toppled four entrenched rulers and seemed to create a political opening in a region long impervious to democratization.

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.