Election Results—June and July 2024
Reports on elections in Belgium, Bulgaria, the European Union, France, Iran, Mauritania, Mongolia, San Marino, and the United Kingdom.
JoD Online
Why Macron’s Big Gamble Worked
The French president risked it all to hand the far right a stinging loss. But the celebration can’t last long. If the country is to avoid greater political chaos, voters must be encouraged to think about broader coalitions that go beyond a narrow left-right divide.
The Empty Promise of Iran’s New President
Masoud Pezeshkian won’t be a “reformer” in any genuine sense. Like all Iranian presidents, he has pledged his loyalty to Iran’s supreme leader. What he really offers is a softer version of Iran’s grim repression.
Why Philippine Politics Resembles a Modern-Day Telenovela
Want to distract the public? Little works better than family feuds ripped from soap opera plotlines. That’s how the Marcos and Duterte clans keep people glued to the drama while crowding out democratic reform.
Tocqueville’s Lessons for America on the Fourth of July
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is as insightful today as in 1835. On this Fourth of July, the Journal of Democracy is sharing three essays reflecting on the prescience of Tocqueville’s observations from nearly two centuries ago.
Is the “Third Wave” Obsolete?
In the 1991 classic, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Samuel P. Huntington offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. Amid rising global populism and increasingly aggressive authoritarian leaders, has Huntington’s framework outlived its usefulness?
Can Bolivia Ever Escape the Coup Trap?
The South American country was once the most coup-prone in the world. Many thought it had closed that chapter. So why did it just suffer another attempted coup?
Getting Over the Third Wave
Samuel Huntington’s classic theory offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. But amid rising populism and increasingly aggressive authoritarian leaders, has Huntington’s thesis outlived its usefulness?
How Taiwan Should Combat China’s Information War
China’s efforts to sway the Taiwanese people with conspiracy theories and lies are starting to resonate, undermining their faith in democracy and deepening polarization. In a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, Tim Niven argues that defending against China’s information war will require tireless resistance from the whole of society.
How Taiwan Should Combat China’s Information War
Beijing assaults Taiwan with a nonstop barrage of conspiracy theories and lies to undermine people’s faith in democracy — and China’s efforts are getting more sophisticated. Taiwan must do even more to fight back.
Is Democracy Surviving the “Year of Elections”?
Millions of voters are casting ballots in a string of elections across the globe this year. At the midyear point, how well is democracy holding up?
JoD on APSA Educate
APSA Educate, an online library for political science teaching and learning materials, now features a set of Journal of Democracy subject guides. Topics range from AI’s risks for democracy to the crisis of liberalism to the state of democracy in India and Latin America. Visit APSA Educate to learn more.
German Voters Trigger a Political Earthquake
The far-right AfD surged ahead in the European Union elections. It is now one of Germany’s dominant parties, and not just part of the fringe.
Is Democracy Surviving the “Year of Elections”?
Millions of voters are casting ballots in a string of elections across the globe. At the midyear point, how well is democracy holding up?
35 Years Since Tiananmen: The Meaning of the Massacre
On 4 June 1989, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of peaceful pro-democracy protesters were killed when the Chinese military opened fire on them in Tiananmen Square. The following are some of our most powerful essays on the meaning of the massacre.
Election Results—May and June 2024
Reports on elections in Chad, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, India, Iran, Lithuania, Mexico, North Macedonia, Panama, South Africa, and Togo.
South Africa Has Entered a New Era
The African National Congress can no longer call all the shots, and opposition parties will have more sway. Will this lead to a more inclusive democracy or gridlock and division?
Can Claudia Sheinbaum Emerge from AMLO’s Shadow?
She was just elected Mexico’s first woman president in a landslide. The future of Mexico’s democracy rests on whether she can break from her predecessor’s ways and carve her own democratic path.
Will the Far Right Run the EU?
A week from today, voters across all 27 European Union countries will head to the polls to elect the next European Parliament. The following Journal of Democracy essays chronicle the far right’s rise across Europe and consider the dangers it presents in the region and beyond.
Why Ukraine’s Elections Can Wait
Ukrainians’ first priority is defending their country from Russia’s invasion. They would rather hold fair, free, and inclusive elections than vote for the sake of voting.