Hong Kong: ‘the China model is cracking’
China’s President Xi Jinping and his comrades have been weathering a political storm, with the growing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong adding to pressure on a regime already locked in… Read more »
Category: Journal of Democracy
Illegitimacy: Why new autocrats are weaker than they look
Whereas scholars used to hope that it was only a matter of time until some of the world’s most powerful autocracies would be forced to democratize, they now concede too… Read more »
Is Poland retreating from democracy?
In both Eastern and Western Europe, social-democratic parties have shifted to the center on economic policy, not only sapping the electoral strength of these parties, but also opening up political… Read more »
Africa’s ‘backsliding’ qualified by democratic resilience
Three decades after sub-Saharan Africa joined the “third wave,” democracy’s ability to endure has been established in many countries, but its quality remains a grave concern, notes Peter M. Lewis,… Read more »
Anti-hypocrisy rhetoric weaponized to attack postwar liberal order
The only way for the European Union to survive as a liberal actor in an increasingly illiberal environment is by transforming itself from a missionary who wants to shape the… Read more »
How the EU can solve its authoritarian creep
A union built to protect democracy faces authoritarian creep. Its leaders are divided over the best response, The Financial Times reports. The anti-democratic tilt in some EU states is an… Read more »
Global democracy ‘at or near a modern-day high’ – but still scope for renewal
Anxiety over the future of democracy, the populist threat, authoritarian alternatives, growing illiberalism, and general democratic malaise may be misplaced, new research suggests. Public support for democratic ideals remains… Read more »
Good governance the touchstone for confronting authoritarianism
Confronting authoritarianism entails many elements, including judicial independence; creating a system that overcomes the harmful manifestations of capitalism; ensuring greater protection for political freedoms and the dynamic exchange of views;… Read more »
Populists in Power: a glimmer of hope?
The historical record since 1945 gives us a picture of how populists operate once they hold political power. The record shows that populism is inimical to liberal democracy, and not… Read more »
Cultural ‘retro backlash’ driving authoritarian populism
Cultural divisions and resentments are driving the rise of authoritarian populism across the Western world, according to a new book. Cultural backlash: Trump, Brexit, and authoritarian populism, by Pippa Norris… Read more »