July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
Why Russia’s Democracy Never Began
People obsess over where Russia’s democracy went wrong. The truth is it did not fail: Russia’s democratic transition never got off the starting blocks.
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July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
Why India’s Democracy Is Dying
Under Narendra Modi, India is maintaining the trappings of democracy while it increasingly harasses the opposition, attacks minorities, and stifles dissent. It can still reverse course, but the damage is mounting.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Putin Myth
Vladimir Putin’s reputation as a skillful leader was buoyed by years of economic good fortune. But when his regime faltered, his rule quickly descended into the fearful, repressive, and paranoid state we see today.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Is Iran on the Verge of Another Revolution?
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The CCP After the Zero-Covid Fail
The regime’s ill-fated policy to eliminate covid from China spurred the largest protests in a generation. It also made Xi Jinping’s challenge of maintaining authoritarian control over Chinese society even harder.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Iraq’s Mafia State
Although Saddam fell twenty years ago, the politicians who have come after him still think like Baathists. But a new generation has begun making itself heard. It believes in Iraq as a nation and it understands democracy as more than a source of spoils to be divided among groups.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
In Europe, Democracy Erodes from the Right
When ordinary voters are given a choice between democracy and partisan loyalty, who will put democracy first? Frighteningly, Europe harbors a deep reservoir of authoritarian potential.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
China’s Threat to Global Democracy
The Chinese Communist Party is deadly serious about its authoritarian designs, and it is bent on promoting them. It is time for the world’s democracies to get serious, too.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
Armies and Autocrats: Why Putin’s Military Failed
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
The Politics of Enemies
Democracy’s meaning has always been contested. Letting that struggle become a battle between existential foes risks upending the whole democratic project.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
How to Compete in Unfair Elections
Opposition movements often boycott rigged polls rather than risk legitimizing an autocrat. It is usually a mistake. Here is the playbook for how one opposition seized the advantage.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
Why Democracies Survive
Democracies are under stress, but they are not about to buckle. The erosion of norms and other woes do not spell democratic collapse. With incredibly few exceptions, affluent democracies will endure, no matter the schemes of would-be autocrats.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Zelensky Has Changed Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky is far more than a brave wartime leader. He began changing the tenor and direction of Ukrainian politics long before the people made him their president.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Viktor Orbán Wins
The case of Hungary shows how autocrats can rig elections legally, using legislative majorities to change the law and neutralize the opposition at every turn, no matter what strategy they adopt.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Bread and Autocracy in Putin’s Russia
The Kremlin wields food as a weapon and a shield against Western interference. But Putin’s push for food autarky could backfire, driving up prices and turning Russians against the regime.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
The Rebirth of the Liberal World Order?
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has done something for the world’s democrats they could seemingly not do for themselves—given them renewed unity, purpose, and resolve.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
What Putin Fears Most
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage
International spying and digital subversion used to be the province of governments. Now anyone who has the cash can order hi-tech snooping and surveillance. This is a threat to the future of freedom.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
How Autocrats Weaponize Women’s Rights
Why are authoritarian regimes championing gender equality? Modern dictators want to appear progressive, liberal, and democratic, while distracting from their worst abuses.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Coup in Tunisia: Is Democracy Lost?
President Kais Saied’s power grab has crushed Tunisian democracy, returning the country to the old playbook of Arab dictators past and present.