October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
Democracy’s defenders have failed to appreciate the power of nationalism. They must arm themselves with emotionally compelling narratives to counter illiberal foes of free government. When they do, they are championing a winning message.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
Although South Korea is praised for its success at fighting covid-19, the triumph came at a cost to rights and privacy, and is drawing attention away from a larger drift toward illiberalism and bitterly factionalized politics.
How a Pastor Found the Courage to Defy a Dictator | Evan Mawarire
Evan Mawarire never thought of himself as a revolutionary. In a gripping new memoir, he tells the story of how he went from a humble clergyman to the leader of a movement that helped the Zimbabwean people find their voice.
How Tragedy Sparked a Protest Movement | John Chin
Serbs from all walks of life have had enough with their corrupt, inept, and increasingly authoritarian government. Will Serbia’s president be able to withstand the crisis?
The Man Who Stood Up to Vladimir Putin | Lucian Kim
It is almost a year since the death of Alexei Navalny. The Russian opposition leader sought to channel Russian nationalism as a challenge to Putin’s autocracy. He gave everything in the fight.
News & Updates
February 2025
Don’t miss these must-read essays from the latest issue of the Journal of Democracy, free for a limited time, on Venezuela, Georgia, Bangladesh, global support for democracy, and more.
February 2025
As artificial intelligence continues to advance at breakneck speed and world powers vie against each other in the AI arms race, democracies are searching for ways to control a technology that is transforming our lives while threatening to break our democratic guardrails.
Most Read
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
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.
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.
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at…
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