October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
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 curb the violence.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
The Salvadoran president’s “iron fist” policies have become one of the most popular political brands in Latin America. But the very reasons that explain his success in El Salvador point to why his repressive approach will not succeed elsewhere.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Violence need not be lethal to pose a threat to democracy. Indeed, low-scale violence has proven to be a far more effective means of manipulating elections.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
When Vladimir Putin launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, he expected an easy victory. Instead, the world has witnessed an object lesson in how a corrupt Russian regime crippled its own military power.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
Democracy’s meaning has always been contested. Letting that struggle become a battle between existential foes risks upending the whole democratic project.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Far from being a vulnerability in the struggle against terrorism, democratic freedoms are key to empowering moderate voices and depriving terrorists of popular support.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
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.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Despite recent progress in the government’s negotiations with rebel groups, Colombia’s problems remain acute: continued violence, growing human rights abuses, severe income inequality, and a depressed economy.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
A review of Jack Snyder's From Voting to Violence.
April 1998, Volume 9, Issue 2
Read the full essay here.
October 1995, Volume 6, Issue 4
Read the full essay here.
Ten years after the revolution, the lessons for protecting a budding democracy and guarding against violent extremism are clear.
Democracy is more resilient than many people realize, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t worrying signs on the horizon.
Of course not. But the region’s democratic hopes are fighting an uphill battle against corruption, crime, and a violent past.
As political polarization deepens in the world’s democracies, political violence is on the rise. And in the wake of these acts, conspiracy theories often bloom. We offer three essays that look at these forces that threaten to upend democracy, and what must be done to overcome them.
Thousands took to the streets to protest. While the regime promises to listen, its actions make clear: Dissent will not be tolerated.
