April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Power, Performance, and Legitimacy
Around the world, democracy has lost steam. If we are to regain the momentum, we must harness these essential elements and wage the struggle with the conviction that the times demand.
Democracy’s Arc: From Resurgent to Imperiled (Expanded Edition)
This is the darkest moment for freedom in half a century. Whether democracy regains its footing will depend on how democratic leaders and citizens respond to emboldened authoritarians and the fissures within their own societies.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Democracy’s Arc: From Resurgent to Imperiled
Whether democracy regains its footing will depend on how democratic leaders and citizens respond to emboldened authoritarians and the fissures within their own societies.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Rebooting Democracy
A review of Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society, by Ronald J. Deibert.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Breaking Out of the Democratic Slump
There is still an opportunity to pull the world out of its democratic slump. What is most needed is democratic conviction and resolve.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: The Threat of Postmodern Totalitarianism
There is a growing sense today that democrats worldwide are in a race against time to prevent cyberspace from becoming an arena for surveillance, control, and manipulation.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
Facing Up to the Democratic Recession
Democracy has been in a global recession for most of the last decade, and committed and resourceful engagement by the established democracies is necessary to reverse this trend.
January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1
Reconsidering the “Transition Paradigm”
Four leading experts on democracy discuss the relevance of the “transition paradigm” in light of the “Arab Spring” and other developments in the world today.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
The Opening in Burma: The Need for a Political Pact
The hardest work of the transition—negotiating political pacts—has not yet begun. Burma’s democrats must help to forge a system of mutual security that can allow democratization to proceed.
January 2012, Volume 23, Issue 1
China and East Asian Democracy: The Coming Wave
If there is going to be a great advance of democracy in this decade, it is most likely going to emanate from East Asia.
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
The Impact of the Economic Crisis: Why Democracies Survive
As an analysis of recent electoral results shows, the world’s emerging democracies are weathering the global economic crisis surprisingly well. Yet they remain under an even sharper threat from their own failures to deliver good governance.
July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3
Liberation Technology
The Internet, mobile phones, and other forms of “liberation technology” enable citizens to express opinions, mobilize protests, and expand the horizons of freedom. Autocratic governments are also learning to master these technologies, however. Ultimately, the contest between democrats and autocrats will depend not just on technology, but on political organization and strategy.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Why Are There No Arab Democracies?
Democracy has held its own or gained ground in just about every part of the world except for the Arab Middle East. Why has this crucial region remained such infertile soil for democracy?
October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
Escaping the Development Impasse
A review of Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places by Paul Collier.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Progress and Retreat in Africa: The Rule of Law versus the Big Man
Africa is a battleground between formal democratic institutions and rule by the will of the "big man." Civil society groups are waging this struggle, and technology is equipping them with surprising new tools.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
A Quarter-Century of Promoting Democracy
On 7 June 2007, the National Endowment for Democracy commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the "Westminster Address" with a panel discussion and reception in Madison Hall at the Library of Congress.
April 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2
Electoral Systems Today: Iraq’s Year of Voting Dangerously
Iraq’s three elections in 2005 highlighted the role—but also the limits—of electoral-system design in managing potentially polarizing divisions.
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
Building Democracy After Conflict: Lessons from Iraq
The U.S.-led reconstruction effort has so far failed to establish democratic institutions in Iraq. But as troubled as that effort has been, it provides valuable lessons for future nation-building endeavors.
October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
The Quality of Democracy: An Overview
Since most of the world’s sovereign states are now democracies, there is a growing scholarly focus on “good” or “better” democracy, and on how improvements can not only be measured, but encouraged.
October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
The Illusion of Liberal Autocracy
A review of The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria.
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.
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.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Is Pakistan the (Reverse) Wave of the Future?
Pakistan’s descent into authoritarian rule starkly depicts the “triple crisis of governance” that threatens many third-wave democracies. If these problems of governance are not addressed, a new “reverse wave” of democratization could be imminent.
July 1996, Volume 7, Issue 3
Is the Third Wave Over?
Democracy’s global advance is facing headwinds, but there are still opportunities for progress in pseudodemocratic and authoritarian states.
July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
Rethinking Civil Society: Toward Democratic Consolidation
What makes civil society best able to help democracy emerge and endure?
Fall 1991, Volume 2, Issue 4
Political Corruption: Nigeria’s Perennial Struggle
Read the full essay here.
Summer 1990, Volume 1, Issue 3
Three Paradoxes of Democracy
While democracy is the most admired form of government, maintaining it requires contending with its contradictions.
Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1
Managing the Military
A review of Rethinking Military Politics: Brazil and the Southern Cone, by Alfred Stepan.
Winter 1990, Volume 1, Issue 1
Why the “Journal of Democracy”
The Journal of Democracy seeks to bridge some of these gaps. We hope that it will help to unify what is becoming a worldwide democratic movement. But like genuine democracy itself, the journal will be pluralistic. Its pages will be open to a wide variety of perspectives and shades of opinion, and it will seek…
Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy
In recent years, as leading authoritarian countries such as China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela have become emboldened within the global arena, challenging the liberal international political order, the advanced democracies have retreated rather than responding to this threat.
Democracy in Decline?
For almost a decade, Freedom House’s annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. Some analysts say this shows that the world has entered a "democratic recession." Others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing democracy’s success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century.
Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World
The uprisings that swept the Arab world beginning in 2010 toppled four entrenched rulers and seemed to create a political opening in a region long impervious to democratization.
Will China Democratize?
Although China has achieved extraordinary economic success without the CCP regime loosening its authoritarian grip, can the country continue its growth without political reform?
Democracy in East Asia: A New Century
Democracy in East Asia offers a comprehensive treatment of the political landscape in both Northeast and Southeast Asia, including discussions of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Burma (Myanmar).
Liberation Technology
"Liberation technology" can help mobilize citizen protest and oust autocracies. Authoritarians can also use technology to stifle protest and target dissenters. Who will win the technological race between "netizens" demanding freedom and authoritarians determined to stay in power?
The Self-Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies
"[This] elegantly written and rigorously structured volume … constitutes an important landmark in the comparative study of democratization."—Carlos Santiso, Forum for Development Studies
Consolidating Democracy in South Korea
"Well worth reading…. A high-quality comparative political science analysis of democratic consolidation in South Korea."—Mette Skak, Political Studies
The Global Divergence of Democracies
Drawn from outstanding articles published in the Journal of Democracy, The Global Divergence of Democracies follows the enthusiastically received earlier volume, The Global Resurgence of Democracy.
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited
"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited is must reading for anyone who considers him- or herself a political economist, and it should also appeal to those probing the uncertainties of contemporary democratization."—Philippe C. Schmitter, Stanford University.
Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy
"Presents thought-provoking notions of the ways in which we view both nationalism and democracy and provides some valuable ideas for working toward a more stable world."—Journal of International Affairs
The Global Resurgence of Democracy
"A useful compilation popularizing the work of an influential journal… The Journal of Democracy is an effective tribune for mainstream U.S. thinking on these issues."—Political Studies
Civil-Military Relations and Democracy
"Provides a wealth of information and some fresh thinking on the role of the military and civil-military relations in many parts of the world. The intellectual quality of most contributions is high and they are concise and well-written."—Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy
This book addresses such broad issues as whether democracy promotes inequality, the socioeconomic factors that drive democratic failure, and the basic choices that societies must make as they decide how to deal with inequality.
Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies
The global trend that Samuel P. Huntington has dubbed the "third wave" of democratization has seen more than 60 countries experience democratic transitions since 1974. While these countries have succeeded in bringing down authoritarian regimes and replacing them with freely elected governments, few of them can as yet be considered stable democracies.
Democracy in East Asia
"Asian and non-Asian authors debate the desirability of democracy in East Asia… The two editors… do an excellent job introducing the issues, ideas, and approaches of the fifteen authors."—Foreign Affairs
Political Parties and Democracy
Political parties are one of the core institutions of democracy. But in democracies around the world, there is growing evidence of low or declining public confidence in parties. But are they in decline, or are they simply changing their forms and functions?
Democracy after Communism
Is the challenge of building and consolidating democracy under postcommunist conditions unique, or can one apply lessons learned from other new democracies? The essays collected in this volume explore these questions, while tracing how the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have fared in the decade following the fall of communism.
World Religions and Democracy
Can religion be compatible with liberal democracy? This volume brings together insights from renowned scholars and world leaders in a provocative discussion of religions' role in the success or failure of democracy.
Assessing the Quality of Democracy
"An important milestone in the study of democratic quality, and an excellent resource for both scholarly researchers and graduate courses on comparative democracy and democratization."—Daunis Auerson, Political Studies Review
Electoral Systems and Democracy
This book compares the experiences of diverse countries, from Latin America to southern Africa, from Uruguay, Japan, and Taiwan to Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The State of India’s Democracy
The essays in The State of India's Democracy focus on India's economy, society, and politics, providing illuminating insights into the past accomplishments—and continuing challenges—of Indian democracy.
Latin America’s Struggle for Democracy
"This valuable collection is essential for all."—Choice
How People View Democracy
No serious student of democracy can afford to be without this book. It offers an original and comprehensive view of what citizens around the world think as democracy's global "third wave" prepares to enter its fourth and perhaps most challenging decade.
Democracy: A Reader
With such influential contributors as Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Anwar Ibrahim, this is an indispensable resource for students of democracy and instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Democratization in Africa: Progress and Retreat
At a time when democracy seems to be in retreat in many parts of the world, Africa presents a more mixed picture. Democratization in Africa: Progress and Retreat brings into focus the complex landscape of African politics by pairing broad analytical surveys with country-specific case studies.
Debates on Democratization
If democracy means anything, it means robust debates. Debates on Democratization is a collection of essays that explores the questions and controversies that surround contemporary democratization.