April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
Change in Uganda: A New Opening?
The decision by Uganda’s leaders to abandon the country’s “movement” system and adopt multiparty pluralism creates a significant opportunity for democratic progress.
Subject: Political culture
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Indonesia’s Approaching Elections: A Year of Voting Dangerously?
For this huge, sprawling nation in the throes of an ambiguous transition, 2004 will be a year replete with unprecedented electoral tests. In the end, leadership and results will probably count for more than rules and institutions, however carefully designed.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Indonesia’s Approaching Elections: Politics, Islam, and Public Opinion
In the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, a dense and pervasive network of moderate Muslim civil society organizations significantly reinforces political moderation and limiting the appeal of radical Islamism.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Advanced Democracies and the New Politics
The advanced democracies are shifting from a reliance on representation toward a mixed repertoire that includes greater reliance on “direct” and “advocacy” democracy, creating new problems that will require new solutions.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Research Report: Does Diversity Hurt Democracy?
It has been claimed in the pages of this journal that a homogeneous society is an advantage when it comes to democratization. How might this suggestion be empirically tested, and with what (perhaps preliminary) results?
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
An “Arab” More Than “Muslim” Democracy Gap
Gauging electoral competitiveness relative to economic development reveals not only that Arab countries “underperform” but, strikingly, that non-Arab Muslim-majority countries tend to “overperform.”
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Political Freedom, Economic Liberty, and Prosperity
Liberty and self-government are not only good in themselves, but also have powerful and beneficial effects on a nation’s level of economic development and prosperity.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Nigeria: Elections in a Fragile Regime
The election cycle concluding in the spring of 2003 was a guarded success. High hurdles to better governance and democratic consolidation remain, but Nigerians can now face them with greater hope.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Kenya: Third Time Lucky?
After falling short in 1992 and 1997, Kenya’s large but fractious opposition coalition swept to victory at the polls in 2002. Transition has arrived, but can democratic transformation follow?
April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
Latin America’s Lost Illusions: A Road with No Return?
What can public-opinion research tell us about the staying power of democracy in the region? Has it passed the point of any possible return to authoritarianism?
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
The 30th Anniversary Freedom House Survey: Modern Democracy as a System of Separations
The “system of separations” is a historic achievement that must be defended even against normatively “purer” understandings of democracy.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Financing Politics: A Global View
Though it is a burning issue in many countries, the question of money and politics is seldom studied on a worldwide scale.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
How Muslims View Democracy: Evidence from Central Asia
What do Muslims think about democracy? Although reliable evidence is hard to come by, survey data from Central Asia open a window on this matter of vital concern in the Muslim world and beyond.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Flogging a Dead God?
A review of Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism by Joshua Muravchik.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
The Balkans: Democracy Without Choices
The gravest challenges facing democracy in the Balkans are problems not of ethnicity or postcommunism, but of citizen disaffection and disillusionment.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Democracy in Real Time
Globalization has fostered the spread of “democracy as procedure,” but it is much less favorable to the spread of “democracy as culture.”
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Africa: The Limits of Power-Sharing
Often recommended as a means of ending intractable civil wars, power-sharing may in fact be least likely to work when it is most needed.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Thinking Big
A review of Arguing Comparative Politics by Alfred Stepan.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: Thinking About Hybrid Regimes
Many countries have adopted the form of democracy with little of its substance. This makes the task of classifying regimes more difficult, but also more important.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: Africa’s Range of Regimes
Today, Africa south of the Sahara has a relatively small number of both democracies and full-blown dictatorships,along with a large number of hard-to-define regimes that fit neither category.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
South Africa: Democracy Without the People?
A decade after the end of apartheid, South African democracy may be headed for trouble because the country has yet to fulfill the three requirements of democratic consolidation: inequality-reducing economic growth, stable institutions, and a supportive political culture.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
South Asia Faces the Future: Illiberalism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka
Irresponsible leadership and ill-designed institutions have made this island republic prey to a bitter and violent ethnic conflict that is threatening to undermine democracy itself.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
What Democracy Can Do for East Asia
The implicit social bargain that carried many East Asian countries through the Cold War has lost its currency. If the peoples of this region are to secure the blessings of peace, liberty, and prosperity in the century ahead, they will need to have a new and explicitly democratic bargain working for them.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
Mozambique: A Fading UN Success Story
The United Nations did superb work in helping Mozambique to end its long-festering civil war and start down the path to recovery, but those gains could slip away amid ominous conditions of partisan polarization, excessive political centralization, and a winner-takes-everything electoral system.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
The Weakness of Postcommunist Civil Society
Recent studies suggest that civil society in the postcommunist countries is significantly weaker than in other types of democracies, old or new. Can this legacy of communism be overcome? If not, what are the implications for democracy?
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
Reconstructing Afghanistan
A review of Afghanistan’s Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban by Larry P. Goodson; and Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, by Ahmed Rashid.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: The Impact of Nationalism
To grasp what is happening in the former USSR, we must examine the types of nationalism that flourish there.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Whatever Happened to “Asian Values”?
In the wake of the East Asian economic crisis of 1997-98, how has the appeal to “Asian Values” fared as a rhetorical prop for undemocratic rule?
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Women and Democracy: Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation
A country’s level of female political representation cannot be explained solely in terms of socioeconomic factors and political institutions. The evidence shows that political culture also matters.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Women and Democracy: The New Political Activism in Africa
Though the proportion of women in political office remains lower in Africa than in most other regions, African women exhibited new political energy and made unprecedented progress during the past decade.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
High Anxiety in the Andes: Bolivia and the Viability of Democracy
One key source of the weakness of democracy in the Andean region is the isolation of the “political class” from the rest of society. There are growing signs that this problem is becoming more serious in Bolivia.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
High Anxiety in the Andes: Peru’s Decade of Living Dangerously
The sudden and surprising downfall of President Alberto Fujimori has opened the way for a return to democracy in Peru, but the country’s new leaders will face major challenges in the coming years.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Rediscovering Culture
A review of Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, edited by Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Democracy as a Starting Point
Democracy by itself does not put an end to injustice or inequality, but it establishes the most favorable conditions for making progress in the struggle to achieve a just society.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Ending One-Party Dominance: Korea, Taiwan, Mexico
The astonishing electoral victories by opposition presidential candidates in Korea, Taiwan, and Mexico all followed a remarkably similar pattern, but it is one that may lead to difficulties for democratic consolidation.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Political Competition and Economic Growth
Under many nondemocratic systems, good policy is bad politics, and bad policy helps leaders stay in office. The result is poorer performance in terms of economic growth.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Monarchy and Political Reform in Morocco
Morocco’s new king, Mohamed VI, has two alternatives: He can invent a new “ruling bargain,” prolonging his father’s authoritarian rule in a new guise, or he can spearhead serious political reforms.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
The 2000 Freedom House Survey: Gains Offset Losses
Promising advances in the status of freedom in the world during the past year have been matched by significant disappointments.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
How People View Democracy: A Diverging Europe
Citizens of postcommunist countries not only want to be free to say what they think and to vote their conscience; they also want a government that obeys the rules it lays down and is not steeped in corruption.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
How People View Democracy: Africans’ Surprising Universalism
Although Africa is a latecomer to democratization, Africans overwhelmingly support democracy, and their conception of democracy is surprisingly liberal.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
How People View Democracy: Halting Progress in Korea and Taiwan
Judging from their citizens’ middling levels of support for and satisfaction with democracy, both Korea and Taiwan are still far from democratic consolidation.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
How People View Democracy: Between Stability and Crisis in Latin America
Across Latin America, public support for democracy has been remarkably stable and consistently higher than satisfaction with the way that democracy works. Low institutional trust reflects even lower levels of interpersonal trust.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Devaluing the Vote in Latin America
Malapportionment poses a serious, yet hitherto neglected, challenge to the quality and fairness of democracy in many Latin American countries.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Mexico’s Victory: The Democratic Revelation
Vicente Fox’s victory in Mexico’s July 2000 presidential election revealed the fundamental changes that had been taking place under the veil of governmental continuity.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Dimensions of Development
Such a comparison clearly shows a higher prevalence of democracy in Latin America and a better economic performance in East Asia. The two regions are likely to converge on both dimensions, but the gaps will remain.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Is Iran Democratizing? Observations on Election Day
In hotly contested parliamentary elections, candidates supportive of President Khatami’s reforms won an overwhelming victory.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Is Iran Democratizing? The Role of the Intellectuals
The “Fourth Generation” of Iranian intellectuals has a vital role to play in strengthening civil society and fostering democratization.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Monitoring the Vote in Croatia
A nongovernmental organization, Citizens Organized to Monitor Voting (GONG), helped ensure the transparency of Croatia’s recent elections.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Classical Liberalism Catches On in China
A specter is haunting China-the specter of classical liberalism.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Arabs and Democracy: The Awakening of Civil Society
While despotic Arab regimes may seem stable, change is brewing beneath the surface. A new era is emerging in which the state will be forced to retreat before a vibrant civil society.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Australia: The Politics of Becoming a Republic
In recent years several Westminster-style parliamentary democracies have considered cutting their ties with the British monarchy and becoming republics. The difficulties involved in trying to make such a shift were on full display in Australia.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Japan’s Political Transition
In The Logic of Japanese Politics, Gerald Curtis portrays the political history of Japan in the 1990s in its full complexity.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Trouble in the Advanced Democracies? A Quarter-Century of Declining Confidence
A quarter-century after the classic study The Crisis of Democracy was published, three distinguished political scientists find that, though the “crisis” may have disappeared, public confidence is on the decline in almost all the world’s advanced democracies.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Trouble in the Advanced Democracies? The End of Consensus in Austria and Switzerland
With Austria’s and Switzerland’s leading political parties having “rigged the political marketplace” by forming Grand Coalitions, voters have turned to the radical right as the only available alternative.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Chile’s Elections: The New Face of the Right
The unexpectedly strong showing of media-savvy rightist candidate Joaquín Lavín in the 1999 presidential elections and the move to the center by Concertación candidate Ricardo Lagos suggest that Chile has begun to put the ghosts of Allende and Pinochet to rest.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Chile’s Elections: Change and Continuity
Lavín’s strong showing did not represent an “earthquake” or a dramatic change in the electoral landscape. Voting patterns have remained basically unchanged since 1988, giving Lagos a clear mandate to lead Chile into the next millennium.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Electoral Reform and Stability in Uruguay
In the November 1999 presidential election, Uruguayans reaffirmed their strong commitment to democracy, while adjusting to a set of constitutional reforms that profoundly altered the electoral system.
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Democracy in the World—Tocqueville Reconsidered
The Editors’ introduction to “Democracy in the World.”
October 1999, Volume 10, Issue 4
Southeast Asia After the Crisis: Thailand’s Successful Reforms
Read the full essay here.
October 1999, Volume 10, Issue 4
Southeast Asia After the Crisis: Challenges of Change in Indonesia
Read the full essay here.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Latin America’s Imperiled Progress: Cardoso and the Struggle for Reform in Brazil
Read the full essay here.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Latin America’s Imperiled Progress: Chavez and the End of “Partyarchy” in Venezuela
Read the full essay here.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Latin America’s Imperiled Progress: “People Power” in Paraguay
Read the full essay here.
April 1999, Volume 10, Issue 2
What Went Wrong in Russia? The Ravages of “Market Bolshevism”
Read the full essay here.
April 1999, Volume 10, Issue 2
What Went Wrong in Russia? The Roots of the Economic Crisis
Read the full essay here.
April 1999, Volume 10, Issue 2
Latin America: Beyond “Democratic Consolidation”
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Another Great Transformation
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Reassessing the Revolutions of 1989
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Geography and Democratic Destiny
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Slovakia’s Democratic Awakening
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Parties and Accountability in the Philippines
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Nigeria: An End to the Permanent Transition
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Contributing to a Culture of Debate in Morocco
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Liberal Voices from China: A Program for Democratic Reform
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Is Ethiopia Democratic? A Political Success Story
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Is Ethiopia Democratic? Oldspeak vs. Newspeak
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Is Ethiopia Democratic? A Bureaucratic Authoritarian Regime
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Free Politics and Free Markets in Latin America
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
South Africa’s Emerging Dominant-Party Regime
Read the full essay here.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Liberalism of Sorts
A review of After 1989: Morals, Revolution, and Civil Society, by Ralf Dahrendorf.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
India Defies the Odds: Enduring Another Election
Indians appear to love the practice of democracy so much that they are in danger of overdoing it. In February and March of 1998, the world's largest democracy held its twelfth general election since gaining its independence a half-century ago. The voting was largely fair and peaceful. New, right-of-center rulers led by the Bharatiya Janata…
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
India Defies the Odds: Why Democracy Survives
India has long baffled theorists of democracy. Democratic theory holds that poverty, widespread illiteracy, and a deeply hierarchical social structure are inhospitable conditions for the functioning of democracy. Yet except for 18 months in 1975-77, India has maintained its democratic institutions ever since it became independent of Britain in 1947. Over those five decades, there…
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
India’s Cold-Eyed Introspection
A review of Fifty Years of Indian Parliamentary Democracy, 1947-1997, by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
April 1998, Volume 9, Issue 2
Surveying Postmaterialism
A review of Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies, by Ronald Inglehart.
January 1998, Volume 9, Issue 1
Will China Democratize? Sources of Resistance
Read the full essay here.