1469 Results
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
Will Russia’s war tip the Kremlin even further toward tyranny while fortifying Ukraine’s democracy? That will depend on Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky as much as on the course of the war itself.
Ukraine doesn’t just deserve EU membership. Its bid could revive and reunify Europe. March 2022 By Oxana Shevel and Maria Popova President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted Ukraine’s formal application to join the EU on 28 February 2022, four days after the Russian invasion began. Zelensky asked for immediate membership under a new special procedure. Many see…
Despite the country’s steady progress fighting corruption, even in wartime, skeptics warn it’s not enough. But this is just an excuse. Their real concern is how Putin’s Russia would respond.
Ukraine doesn’t just deserve EU membership. Its bid could revive and reunify Europe.
Billions in much-needed American military aid are now headed for Ukraine. The following Journal of Democracy essays demonstrate what it will take to reverse the course of this war of attrition, and why this struggle is a “contest between democracy and dictatorship.”
What explains democracy’s declining fortunes — governments’ failure to deliver or institutions’ failure to stop power-hungry leaders? Why Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize the entire liberal-democratic order. And how Syria must navigate the complexities of transitional justice and sectarian violence now that the hard work of rebuilding has begun.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Many pundits cry for a negotiated settlement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But they misunderstand Vladimir Putin’s motives. The only just end to the war will be in the trenches, not at the bargaining table.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
Russian propagandists—echoed by some Western commentators—portray Ukraine as a hotbed of nationalist extremism. The truth is quite different.
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.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
Ukrainians flocked to the Maidan to express a “choice for Europe,” but they may also have forged the beginnings of a new Ukrainian identity.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Excerpts from: letter from the Editors of Novaya Gazeta; Speech by Ukraine’s UN Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya; statement by former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė; statement by the Russian Anti-War Committee; transcript of an interrogation of an antiwar protester by Russian police; speech by Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky to the U.K. Parliament
On March 11, Ukraine agreed to a thirty-day ceasefire with Russia. But Vladimir Putin is holding out, insisting that his harsh demands must first be met. Does Putin really hold all the bargaining chips, or is he weaker than we think?
The Russo-Ukrainian War represents an existential clash between democracy and autocracy. A Ukrainian loss, Serhii Plokhy argues in the new issue of the Journal of Democracy, could endanger democracy across the globe.
Afghanistan taught us that a firehose of unaccountable aid can destroy a country’s democratic future. In Ukraine, we are making the same mistake all over again. | By Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili and Nataliia Shapoval
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just another land grab. It’s an attempt to recolonize lost empire, and threatens to return us to the age of conquest.
Afghanistan taught us that a firehose of unaccountable aid can destroy a country’s democratic future. In Ukraine, we are making the same mistake all over again.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Ukraine versus Russia is a modern David versus Goliath conflict that matters not only for the future of Ukraine, but for that of democracy itself.
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy. 22 February 2022 By Robert Person and Michael McFaul Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has begun. Russian president Vladimir Putin wants you to believe that it’s NATO’s fault. He frequently has claimed (including again in an…
The Journal of Democracy has been covering the roots of Putin’s obsession with Ukraine for nearly 20 years. Here are 7 essential reads on the origins of the conflict, and what brought us to this dangerous moment.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
