Elections in nearly eighty countries around the world captured headlines throughout 2024. Meanwhile, NATO turned 75, Viktor Orbán ramped up his repression, and Bitcoin became the currency of choice for democracy activists under threat. These ten essays were the JoD’s most-read online exclusives of 2024.
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine. | Michael McFaul
Can democratic institutions be turned to exclusionary ends? ~ Why has the ongoing refugee crisis transformed the politics of Central and Eastern European states—despite the fact that these countries host virtually no migrants? ~ And what do demographic and generational changes mean for the liberal consensus that emerged in the wake of communism’s fall? In this thought-provoking…
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
Excerpts from: Maria Ressa’s comments on social media at the 2021 Copenhagen Democracy Summit; NGO statement on the arrest of Algerian human-rights defenders; statement denouncing the dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and the attorney general; letter on the sentencing of a Saudi man for allegedly running a satirical Twitter account.
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
A review of What Is Populism? by Jan-Werner Müller.
Summer 1990, Volume 1, Issue 3
Reports on elections in Algeria, Bulgaria, Burma/Myanmar, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Peru, Romania, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe.
October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
Excerpts from: incumbent Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inaugural address; The Doha Declaration for Democracy and Reform issued by a conference in Doha sponsored by Qatar University’s Center for Gulf Studies; speech opening the conference by Qatar’s Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani; inaugural speech by newly elected Serbian president Boris Tadić of the Democratic Party.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Shortcomings in governance and electoral administration may be accelerating India’s slide to autocracy. Were these flaws embedded in Indian democracy from the start?
July 1996, Volume 7, Issue 3
Excerpts from: Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui’s inaugural address; a ten-point declaration of a summit of more than a dozen Nigerian prodemocracy groups; an “Inter-American Convention Against Corruption”; resolutions adopted by Burma’s National League for Democracy.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
A review of The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy by William J. Dobson
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Excerpts from: Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan’s inaugural address; the March 29 statement issued by the 31-member Libyan Interim National Council; the final statement issued by participants of the Conference for Change in Syria.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
Reports on elections in Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, Egypt, El Salvador, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Panama, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, and Ukraine.
July 2015, Volume 26, Issue 3
Reports on elections in Benin, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Sudan, Suriname, Togo, and Turkey.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
A review of The People vs. Tech: How the Internet Is Killing Democracy (and How We Save It) by Jamie Bartlett.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
A review of Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World, by Bethany Allen.
July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
A review of How India Became Democratic: Citizenship and the Making of the Universal Franchise by Ornit Shani.
The economy is spiraling, public frustration is mounting, and the regime is becoming more repressive. The next time Egyptians come to the streets, they will be looking for more than promises and free elections.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
Through its “16+1” initiative, China is building relationships with postcommunist Europe that could threaten to undermine the European Union.
The Venezuelan strongman lost the election and everyone knows it. He has nothing left to offer but violence and repression. It will be his undoing.
