Category: Journal of Democracy

Does culture affect foreign policy – and democratization?

     

  Western ideas—which many in the West believe are universal—collide with the ideals of Middle Eastern societies in ways that aren’t always obvious, argues Steven Cook, a Fellow for Middle… Read more »

Populism the ‘most menacing challenger’ to democracy

     

European democracy seems to be in jeopardy, and there is no shortage of culprits, notes Takis S. Pappas, associate professor of comparative politics at the University of Macedonia and coeditor… Read more »

Unraveling of Post-1989 Order – The Specter Haunting Europe

     

The unraveling of the post–Cold War liberal order is manifested by the West’s declining influence in international politics; the waning attraction of liberal democracy; and the maturing tensions within liberal… Read more »

Specter of ‘lost Left’ haunting Europe’s democracies

     

Common explanations for Europe’s malaise aren’t wrong, but they don’t provide the full picture, argues Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College. A key cause for Europe’s… Read more »

Venezuela’s odd transition to dictatorship

     

Venezuela’s Congress on Sunday declared that the government had staged a coup by blocking a drive to recall President Nicolas Maduro in a raucous legislative session that was interrupted when… Read more »

What’s behind the worldwide decline of democracy?

     

The history of democracy globally is strewn with examples of extremists and demagogues manipulating prejudice, insecurity, and fear in a bid for power, argues Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at… Read more »

China’s decentralized kleptocracy: dynamics of regime decay

     

In 1989 the movement for democracy brought the Chinese Communist Party to within days of extinction, The Economist notes: According to official reports, on one day alone, May 22nd, 6m… Read more »

Illiberalism and authoritarianism can be successfully challenged

     

Illiberalism and authoritarianism in central and eastern Europe can be successfully challenged, according to Tom Junes, a member of the Human and Social Studies Foundation and a visiting fellow at… Read more »

Morocco election highlights political polarization, maintains constitutional smokescreen

     

  Morocco‘s moderate Islamists have won parliamentary elections, beating a rival party critics say is too close to the royal palace in a tight race that will complicate negotiations to… Read more »

Dealing with Africa’s autocratic regimes

     

There have been concerns that democratization is not happening fast enough in Africa, but Julia Leininger, an expert on African Politics from the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik)… Read more »