July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Authoritarian regimes are not lawless. Rather, autocrats take to the courtroom not only to enforce their will but to justify their rule. So how do they appeal to reason? How do they rationalize their undemocratic turn?
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Syria is a rare case. A state being governed by a new elite that is committed to Islamic thought but open to a wide range of intellectual influences. While it is early, we may see the rise of a novel brand of Islamic presidentialism in the works.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Iran’s theocracy has waged a brutal campaign against its own citizens for years. Now that the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has stripped the regime of any legitimacy, the mullahs have had no response but to sharpen their instruments of repression.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Citizens across the globe still value democracy, but they have become dissatisfied with the way it is working. A new era of representation is in order — one featuring more diverse leaders, responsive politicians, and empowered publics.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Around the world, democracy has lost steam. If we are to regain the momentum, we must harness these essential elements and wage the struggle with the conviction that the times demand.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
The Afghan republic’s destruction was sewn into its founding. The international community’s missteps are more responsible for its failure than the country’s supposedly endemic corruption.
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov attempted to use sham democratic elections in February 2017 to bolster his legitimacy both at home and abroad.
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Read the full essay here.
January 1998, Volume 9, Issue 1
Read the full essay here.
January 1998, Volume 9, Issue 1
Read the full essay here.
July 1996, Volume 7, Issue 3
A review of Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority, edited by Muthiah Alagappa.
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.
France is burning through prime ministers and Macron’s political gambles are going bust. The French president needs to change his tactics before it’s too late.
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.
