Most of the world’s democracies remain extremely vulnerable to sharp-power threats. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore how authoritarians weaponize universities, technologies, media, entertainment, and culture to attempt to crack democracy’s foundations.
The country’s polls were marred by delayed results and charges of rigging. Worse, they might plunge Pakistan into an even deeper political crisis.
President Macky Sall has called off his country’s presidential election just weeks ahead of the vote. His unconstitutional decree will not only keep him in power, but threatens to throw Senegal into violent chaos.
Reports on elections in Comoros, El Salvador, Senegal, and Tuvalu.
El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele may be overwhelmingly popular, but he wasn’t going to let his electoral ambitions hinge on being well-liked. Instead, he rigged the playing field before the first vote was cast.
He has created a new office with massive investigatory powers that are vaguely defined and leave everyone on edge. In other words, it’s classic Orbán.
Hundreds of thousands of Germans are taking to the streets in protest against the country’s far-right parties. Will it shift the tide or leave Germany further divided?
We can learn a lot about the crackdown in Hong Kong if we compare it to Thailand—and vice versa. Autocrats and activists are learning from each other in real time.
In the new issue of the Journal of Democracy, Kurt Weyland argues that democracy almost always triumphs over populism. In fact, while strongmen may strain democratic institutions, they rarely come out on top.
Reports on elections in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Serbia, Sint Maarten, and Taiwan.
Taiwan’s voters rewarded the ruling party with an unprecedented third consecutive term, despite the mainland’s attempts to intimidate. Expect Beijing to find new ways to threaten the democracy off its coast.
Many feared Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s election would spell the end of Philippine democracy. But the dictator’s son has surprised nearly everyone, playing the role of a reformer while moving fast to sideline his populist rivals.
The ten most-read online exclusives this year focused on the Russia-Ukraine war as well as events in China, Iran, Western Europe, and Latin America.
Our most-read essays of 2023 covered the state of India’s democracy, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the protests in Iran, and more.
New works on China, Russia, political philosophy, English history, and much more graced our shelves this year. Here are the JoD staff’s favorite books of the year.
There is no clear roadmap. But Poland may be setting out on its first steps in stamping out populism and holding those responsible for the worst violations of the rule of law.
Reports on elections in India, Marshall Islands, and Netherlands.
India just held five state elections that did more than declare winners and losers: They offered a roadmap for how to win the national contest in the world’s most populous democracy next year.
Yesterday, Journal of Democracy founding coeditor Larry Diamond delivered the twentieth annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture on Democracy in the World, named for one of the great scholars of the twentieth century. In his remarks, Diamond outlined the grave threats that global democracy faces—and the three things we need to survive this moment.
