JoD Online

Liberal democracy combines majority rule with the protection of minority rights. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt wrote last year in the Journal of Democracy that while some institutions which limit the power of electoral majorities are essential to liberal democracy, others are not only unnecessary but may even distort political competition.

In recent years, we have seen young people across the world take to the streets in huge numbers. Propelled by economic precarity, exclusion from power, and elite corruption, Gen Z protesters have been risking severe repression despite little hope of bringing lasting change.

Uganda’s longtime ruler, Yoweri Museveni, and pop star–turned–freedom fighter Bobi Wine, along with six other candidates, are facing off today in the country’s presidential election.

U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife and delivered them to New York City to stand trial on charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. Maduro may be gone, but his regime remains intact with his appointed deputy now at the reins.

When a democratically elected president acts undemocratically, how do you hold him accountable? It isn’t easy. Most leaders — even those who attempt to hold power through coups — evade justice.

Last week, a Bangladeshi court convicted deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death. Hasina, now exiled in India, was ousted by a student uprising in August 2024 after unleashing a vicious crackdown on protesters, killing more than a thousand.

Gulf monarchies are exerting influence all over the world — in sports, media, entertainment, and politics. Where their human-rights records once drew censure, these oil-rich kingdoms are now being courted and their leaders welcomed in Western halls of power. How have these countries remained bastions of repression while white-washing their reputations? The following Journal of Democracy essays…

“As U.S. military assets accumulate in the Caribbean and diplomatic pressure on the Nicolás Maduro regime intensifies,” writes José Ramón Morales-Arilla in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, “two starkly different visions of Venezuela’s future dominate policy discussions.”

On 8 December 2024, a coalition of Islamic militants toppled the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled the country for more than half a century.

Tanzania’s Independence Day was Tuesday, barely a month since the shocking and brutal crackdown on thousands of protesters decrying the country’s sham election.