January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Is Meritocracy Just?
A review of The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel.
Articles
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Thieves’ Paradise
A review of Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World, by Tom Burgis.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Belarus Uprising: The Making of a Revolution
Well-organized demonstrations are rocking the 26-year-old dictatorship of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Inside the movement and why it rose when it did.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Belarus Uprising: How a Dictator Became Vulnerable
In a country where opposition forces were long marginalized and dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka faced little serious threat to his rule, Belarus’s 2020 antirevolutionary protest movement has changed the game.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
The Authoritarian Assault on Knowledge
Universities, publishers, and other knowledge-sector institutions face increasingly sophisticated authoritarian efforts to quash critics and subvert independent inquiry.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
How Authoritarians Use International Law
Through greater savvy engagement with international law, authoritarians are seeking not only to shield themselves from criticism, but to reshape global norms in their favor.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
China’s Message Machine
The People’s Republic of China uses massive amounts of propaganda to influence how it is perceived beyond its borders. “Big data” reveal how that image is carefully and deliberately shaped for different audiences in different places.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Covid vs. Democracy: Introduction
The Editors’ introduction to “Covid vs. Democracy.”
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Covid vs. Democracy: Brazil’s Populist Playbook
By highlighting the deficiencies of authoritarian-populist president Jair Bolsonaro’s rule, the covid-19 pandemic is likely to leave Brazil’s democracy intact but even more brittle.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Covid vs. Democracy: India’s Illiberal Remedy
India’s covid-19 response has accelerated the country’s slide toward competitive authoritarian rule by centralizing decision making, undermining federalism, and providing new pretexts for stifling dissent.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Covid vs. Democracy: South Africa’s Lockdown Misfire
South Africa’s government sought to heed expert advice with its covid lockdown, yet shortcomings in state capacity fatally undermined both the virus response and efforts to address its devastating economic toll.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Crackdown: Hong Kong Faces Tiananmen 2.0
Liberty flourished in Hong Kong, but the Chinese Communist Party has crushed it. Beijing wants “capitalism without freedom” in the city, but can there be one without the other?
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
The Bangladesh Paradox
Despite impressive achievements in socioeconomic development, Bangladesh has struggled with establishing democracy and is now effectively under one-party rule.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
The Return of the Latin American Military?
When asked by presidents to intervene domestically for crime-fighting or civil-order purposes, Latin American militaries face a number of risks and have a degree of freedom to tailor their responses accordingly.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Policing the Police: U.S. and European Models
Hyperlocalized U.S. policing both upholds and corrodes democratic principles. Although some aspects of Europe’s model are nonstarters in the United States, Americans crave centralized enforcement of rules against abusive policing.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Revealing China’s “Hidden Hand”
A review of Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party Is Reshaping the World, by Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
A Glimpse of the Way Forward
For all the concern over authoritarianism’s advance, the competence of governance may be what determines the next chapter in the struggle between democracy and dictatorship.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
The Enduring Vulnerability of Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy has drawn its share of false indictments. But like any form of government, it has genuine weaknesses that can at best be managed. How well liberals navigate these inherent tensions may help determine the future of freedom.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
China’s Pandemic Power Play
President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to seize new ground and promote China’s global influence. But their assertive, strong-arm tactics are born from fear and restless insecurity.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
Authoritarian Survival: Why Maduro Hasn’t Fallen
His regime has hung onto power despite setbacks that would have toppled most democratic governments. Besides pure repression, Maduro has developed new autocratic tools that have kept Venezuela’s authoritarian state afloat.