July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
Since the beginning of the second Modi government, an emboldened BJP has launched a steady, comprehensive, and unprecedented attack on civil liberties, personal rights, and free speech across India.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
To say that Indian democracy is backsliding misunderstands the country’s history and the challenges it faces: A certain authoritarianism is embedded in India’s constitution and political structures.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
Under Narendra Modi, India is maintaining the trappings of democracy while it increasingly harasses the opposition, attacks minorities, and stifles dissent. It can still reverse course, but the damage is mounting.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
It is true that politics under the BJP is a break from the past. But attempts to reduce the country’s present condition to democratic backsliding misunderstands the moment and is an injustice to India’s journey as a democracy.
Ukraine Can’t Hold Elections During the War. Does It Matter? | Anna Romandash
Russia’s brutal ongoing invasion is preventing Ukrainians from holding a presidential election and the campaigning that comes with it. What does that mean for Ukraine’s democracy?
Why Vladimir Kara-Murza Gave Up His Freedom | Pedro Pizano
The Russian dissident journalist and activist knew if he returned to Russia he would be imprisoned or worse. But he was plagued by one question that compelled him to go.
Global Freedom Is in Decline, But What About Democracy? | Yana Gorokhovskaia
Democracy is more resilient than many people realize, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t worrying signs on the horizon.
News & Updates
April 2024
Citizens have lost faith in democracy. Misinformation, disinformation, hyperpolarization, and conspiracies, exacerbated by the modern media environment, have heightened distrust and anger. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore these dynamics and the important role ordinary citizens can play in countering democratic erosion.
April 2024
Liberalism is being assailed from left and right, but it has not failed. In the Journal’s newest symposium, five authors grapple with questions of liberalism’s lasting relevance and its challenges for the future.
Most Read
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
The case of Hungary shows how autocrats can rig elections legally, using legislative majorities to change the law and neutralize the opposition at every turn, no matter what strategy they adopt.
Volodymyr Zelensky is far more than a brave wartime leader. He began changing the tenor and direction of Ukrainian politics long before the people made him their president.
By Susan Dodsworth & Graeme Ramshaw
The supposed tradeoff between economic development and democracy-building is more fiction than fact. Fuller democratic governance can enhance development.
