Where Conspiracy Theories Come From
There is nothing inherently menacing or antidemocratic about conspiracy theories. They can even be a source of amusement. The trouble comes when political elites weaponize them to invite violence.
1705 Results
There is nothing inherently menacing or antidemocratic about conspiracy theories. They can even be a source of amusement. The trouble comes when political elites weaponize them to invite violence.
Drawing on their essays in the October 2011 and January 2012 issues of the Journal of Democracy, Andrew Reynolds and John Carey discussed the constitutional and electoral designs chosen by Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.
March 29, 2012
Ten of the former ambassador’s best JoD essays spanning the last thirty years.
Is global democracy really in freefall? Here’s what they think.
Two years ago, Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands have been wounded or killed in this war of attrition. The following Journal of Democracy essays reveal the impulses that led Putin to launch this brutal campaign and the resilience of those fighting to stop him.
The Mexican military has a larger role governing the country than at any time in the past eighty years. The following Journal of Democracy essays uncover and analyze the democratic and antidemocratic forces at work within Mexico’s institutions.
Coups are a direct assault on democracy. And militaries can be pivotal to whether a coup succeeds or fails. The following Journal of Democracy essays examine what makes coups more likely, and how democracies can keep the military brass from seizing power.
Reports on elections in Rwanda, Syria, and Venezuela.
The United States, like other polarized democracies, is in turmoil. Increasing radicalism, intolerance, and violence continue to rock the country in the run-up to the November election. These essays reflect on this polarization and how to protect ourselves from the damage it is inflicting.
Deo Pondu Maheshe, director of the Centre d'Etudes et d'Encadrement pour la Participation au Developpement Endogene, comments on David Peterson's essay, "Burundi's Transition: A Beacon for Central Africa," which appeared in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Democracy.
January 30, 2006
Reports on elections in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kiribati, Sint Maarten, and Sri Lanka.
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.
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.
If liberal norms and institutions are to prevail, they need to be defended from the left and the right.
Democratic institutions, norms, and practices have been under threat in India. Should the country’s democracy fail, it will affect not only the lives of 1.4 billion Indians, but also democracy movements around the world.
The following essays from the Journal of Democracy examine the roots of the dangerous trend of polarization and offer ways to repair our politics and bring citizens back together.
Mexico’s president recently signed into law a series of reforms that bulldoze the country’s judicial system and eviscerate democratic checks on executive power. Amrit Singh and Gianmarco Coronado Graci explain why this is even worse than it seems.
The attack on Donald Trump is one of the worst instances of political violence in recent years. Such violence is the result of a moment in which people begin to see their political opponents as enemies instead of citizens of a different political stripe.
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is as insightful today as in 1835. On this Fourth of July, the Journal of Democracy is sharing three essays reflecting on the prescience of Tocqueville’s observations from nearly two centuries ago.
Commentary on Leslie Anderson and Larry Dodd's July 2009 essay on Nicaragua's 2008 municipal elections.
January 1, 2010