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Venezuela’s opposition defeated Nicolás Maduro in the country’s July presidential election, but the Venezuelan strongman refuses to relinquish power. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chronicle Venezuela’s struggle against Maduro’s authoritarianism — and what makes this election different.
Election observers are the first line of defense for democratic rights and freedoms. The essays below highlight the importance of election monitoring, especially in highly polarized, autocratic settings, the dangers that observers face, and the repercussions of rigged contests.
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.
Rachel Kleinfeld and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca detail the dangers of deep polarization and lay out steps that leaders and citizens can take to stop the violence.
When María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, she made sure to emphasize that her accomplishments were not hers alone — they were shared with countless other activists agitating for democracy in Venezuela.
Mexico’s ruling party is using its majority to overhaul democratic institutions. Venezuela’s autocrat, Nicolás Maduro, has been sworn in for a third term after stealing an election he clearly lost. And the legacy of covid-19 is still shaping the region’s politics. The following JoD essays unpack the latest in Latin American democracy.
The pillars of Sisi’s regime are straining, and Assad’s collapse is raising the pressure. If Egypt is going to follow Syria’s path, these are signals to watch.
When voters are asked to cast ballots for or against important national policies — whether to draft or adopt a new constitution, to abolish or reinstate term limits, or, perhaps most famously, to leave or remain in the European Union — they take that job seriously. Yet national referendums are not always put forward in…
The brutal regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fell in a week. Syrians have been preparing for this moment for years.
Nicolás Maduro is a mafia boss, not a president, and the Venezuelan government is now a criminal enterprise with the power of a state. It poses a threat to democracies everywhere.
Six new podcast episodes featuring JoD authors discussing their essays with political scientists, historians, and journalists. Listen, read, and learn!
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.
Appendix – How Much Democratic Backsliding
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.
Washington is pressuring Ukraine to agree to a peace deal with Russia that bows to many Russian demands while leaving Ukraine vulnerable. Robert Person argues that Putin cannot be trusted and Kyiv must not surrender to these demands.
