Is Ukraine Too Corrupt to Join the EU?

  • Maria Popova
Despite the country’s steady progress fighting corruption, even in wartime, skeptics warn it’s not enough. But this is just an excuse. Their real concern is how Putin’s Russia would respond.

Is Germany Headed to a Political Crisis?

  • Michael Bröning
After losing a confidence vote and triggering snap elections, can Olaf Scholz lead mainstream parties back to power, or will more radical forces prevail?

Macron’s Dangerous Game

  • Thomas Regan-Lefebvre
France is burning through prime ministers and Macron’s political gambles are going bust. The French president needs to change his tactics before it’s too late.

Hope and Fear in Syria

  • Elizabeth Parker-Magyar
The brutal regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fell in a week. Syrians have been preparing for this moment for years.

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July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3

South Korea’s Democratic Decay

Although South Korea is praised for its success at fighting covid-19, the triumph came at a cost to rights and privacy, and is drawing attention away from a larger drift toward illiberalism and bitterly factionalized politics.

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July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3

Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding

If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all.

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October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4

China’s Age of Counterreform

The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.

Latest Online Exclusives

Why Ghana’s Election Matters Across Africa | John Chin
The West African democracy is one of the continent’s most enduring, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s a bulwark for democracy beyond its borders.

Why Romania Just Canceled Its Presidential Election | Veronica Anghel
The Romanian government is trying to guard against Russian election interference. But such a drastic, unexpected, and last-minute move risks undermining people’s faith in democracy.

What Happened to South Korea’s Democracy? | Gi-Wook Shin
The quick reversal of President Yoon’s martial-law order is being celebrated as a democratic victory. But the problems run deeper than one man. What comes next?

Georgia’s Battle for Freedom | Ghia Nodia
Georgians have returned to the streets to fight for their country’s future. They refuse to let it slip quietly into the autocracy the ruling party seeks.

News & Updates

The JoD’s Top Essays of 2024

December 2024

The world’s biggest democracy and its brand of Hindu nationalism were top of mind for our readers in 2024. Meanwhile, this “year of elections” raised questions about liberalism, civic virtue, and democratic resilience across the world. The Journal of Democracy covered all of these ideas — plus the biggest stories of the year.


The JoD on a Podcast Near You!

December 2024

Journal of Democracy essays go beyond the page. Here are five recent podcasts featuring JoD authors discussing their essays with historians, journalists, students, and democracy scholars. Listen, read, and learn!


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Documents on Democracy

An interview with Vladimir Kara-Murza; María Corina Machado on the Venezuelan opposition movement; a speech from Bangladesh’s new interim chief advisor; an open letter from Tunisian opposition candidates; a professor on the youth anticorruption protests in Uganda; and NATO’s seventy-fifth…

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The Power of Liberal Nationalism

Democracy’s defenders have failed to appreciate the power of nationalism. They must arm themselves with emotionally compelling narratives to counter illiberal foes of free government. When they do, they are championing a winning message.

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How to Prevent Political Violence

Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone, have the power to stoke or stamp out this dangerous cycle of violence.

The Return of Dictatorship

Alongside democratic backsliding is another, more pernicious phenomenon: dictatorial drift, where “soft” authoritarian regimes are opting to become highly repressive dictatorships. The West must develop new strategies to defend democracy across the globe.

China and the Battle for the Global South

Under Xi Jinping, the PRC has grown more assertive in the Global South. China aggressively targets country after country, often zeroing in on small but strategically significant states. But there are proven ways for even fragile democracies to resist Beijing’s…

How Organized Crime Threatens Latin America

Drug cartels possess the power of militaries, the profits of corporations, and the coercive capacity of a state. They will not be eliminated any time soon. But the region’s democracies can seek to raise their costs, limit their influence, and…

The Long Decline of South Africa’s ANC

After thirty years of ANC dominance, the 2024 elections have ushered in multiparty politics in South Africa. Will the party’s centrist shift be enough to stop its descent, or is it destined to fracture further?

The 2024 EU Elections: The Far Right at the Polls

The far right celebrated big wins in the 2024 European Union elections, but it has struggled to translate that success into political power. Victory at the ballot box has not made its ideological and organizational divisions any easier to solve.

Freedom of Expression’s Crisis of Interpretation

When an epidemic of Koran burnings swept Denmark and Sweden, the Danish government criminalized the practice. It is a misguided response that misses the opportunity to protect both minorities and the right to free speech.

The Rise of Multicultural Nationalism

Some liberals attribute the origins of our polarized political era to “identity politics.” But multiculturalism need not provoke majoritarian anxieties — not if national identities can open ways for all citizens to be recognized and heard.

Democracy and Diversity in Western Europe

Immigration has changed the face of Western Europe. Yet mainstream political parties have largely ignored citizens’ concerns about what immigration means for their societies, leaving them ripe for far-right populists to exploit.

Liberal Democracy in an Age of Immigration

Immigration threatens to erode liberalism, as far-right parties and migrant communities with illiberal views gain power. Mass publics have shouldered the blame. But should political elites be held responsible?

Majoritarianism Without Majorities

Majoritarian nationalism is a defining feature of our time. If we are to resist ethnonationalist leaders trying to recast our societies into imagined majorities, we must revise our conception of democracy and the exclusion inherent in majority rule.

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China’s Age of Counterreform

The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and…