January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Iranian women’s rights activist Shaparak Shajarizadeh’s speech accepting the Morris B. Abram award; the World Uyghur Congress statement for the UN’s 75th anniversary; call by NGOs for the release of human-rights advocate Ramy Kamel in Egypt; NGO statement on the police response to Thai prodemocracy protests; statement of support for LGBTI activists in Poland; statement…
Why Don’t Voters Care About Local Government?
National politics is increasingly overshadowing everything else, even as local government does more and more. Here’s how to right the balance. | By Eguiar Lizundia and Utpal Misra
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech; former Yukos oil company head Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s statement criticizing the Moscow trial of three members of the band Pussy Riot; Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi’s speech; the statement of 17 Egyptian NGOs urging a greater focus on the rule of law and human rights.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 U.S. Election
- Nathaniel Persily
- Charles Stewart III
The covid-19 pandemic nearly upended the U.S. election, but after a rocky primary season changes were made to save it. Alarmingly, however, a large portion of voters have rejected the result. The challenge of overcoming lies about a “rigged” election is great.
Why Don’t Voters Care About Local Government?
- Eguiar Lizundia
- Utpal Misra
National politics is increasingly overshadowing everything else, even as local government does more and more. Here’s how to right the balance.
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July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
Explaining Eastern Europe: Orbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism
- Péter Krekó
- Zsolt Enyedi
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has used its two-thirds majority in parliament to change the constitution, erase checks and balances, and make the electoral system even more majoritarian.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
How to Prevent Political Violence
- Rachel Kleinfeld
- Nicole Bibbins Sedaca
Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone, have the power to stoke or stamp out this dangerous cycle of violence.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
A Hong Kong prodemocracy activist’s statement upon her sentencing; Georgia’s president denounces the election results; Alaa Abd el-Fattah was named Writer of Courage and joint recipient of the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize; an open letter for Xu Zhiyong; and a Nigerian senator condemns the arrests of youth protesters.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta; the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai's annual report to the Human Rights Council; Remarks by Rosa MaríaPayá, daughter of the lateOswaldo Payá Sardiñas.
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January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: portions of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's closing statement at his fraud trial on 10 November 2010; the Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights; an open letter written by two dozen former officials of the People’s Republic of China Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; a UN resolution establishing the special rapporteur on freedom…
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The Perils of Propaganda
- Philip J. Costopoulos
A review of How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler, by Peter Pomerantsev.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
The Rise of Political Violence in the United States
- Rachel Kleinfeld
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
The Mandarin in the Machine
- William J. Dobson
Beijing is bent on deploying mass surveillance to eliminate threats to its rule. It is terrifying—and the latest example of its determination to remold society.
Turkey’s Make-or-Break Election
The forces that brought Erdoğan to power may be his downfall in Turkey’s May 14 elections. Here are a selection of key Journal of Democracy essays from the last two decades of his rule.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Trends in Democracy Assistance: What Has Europe Been Doing?
- Richard Youngs
In recent years, European aid in support of political development has been on the rise. What kind of programs have these funds been supporting, and where are they being spent?
January 2024, Volume 35, Issue 1
Hindu Nationalism and the New Jim Crow
- Ashutosh Varshney
- Connor Staggs
While the histories of white supremacy and Hindu supremacy are different, their political objectives are much the same. The BJP is forging a regime of exclusion and oppression as brutal as the Jim Crow South. Only India’s voters can reverse its advance.
The Life of the Party
Online Exclusive by Patrick Quirk and Jan Surotchak | Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.
