April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Delivery matters, but so do leaders’ actions. Why have so many, in both strong and weak economies, been pushing against democratic constraints on their power, and why have those constraints failed to contain them?
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
When South Korea’s president declared martial law last December, he shocked the country and sparked a political crisis that laid bare deep-seated divisions. Can Korean democracy overcome the nationalist polarization that has always defined it?
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Propaganda is autocrats’ weapon of first resort, allowing them to rely on persuasion rather than violence to achieve their ends. But citizens have grown savvy, so autocrats are taking a new tack: spreading their messages via private news outlets indirectly controlled by regime proxies.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Syrians rejoiced when Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell. After decades of dictatorship and civil war, Syrians must now rebuild their country while seeking justice for the victims of authoritarian rule.
Kenya’s Shaky Handshake Deals | Alexander Noyes
The country has a long history of power-sharing deals that are sealed with a handshake. The truth is that this type of political bargaining typically does more harm than good.
After Crackdown, Is Turkey an Autocracy? | Berk Esen and Sebnem Gumuscu
Turkey’s president would rather turn his country into a full autocracy than give up power. But the Turkish people are clinging to what remains of their democracy, and they are ready to fight for it.
Why DeepSeek Is So Dangerous | Valentin Weber
The Chinese Communist Party’s newest AI advance is making repression smarter, cheaper, and more deadly. Even worse, they aim to export it to the world.
News & Updates
April 2025
Syria now has another chance at democracy. In our April issue, leading scholars of Syria reflect on why there is reason to hope Syria will be free, despite the difficult road ahead.
April 2025
The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chart the trials and triumphs of Kenya’s democracy over the last two decades — plus key essays on the theory and practice of political power sharing.
Most Read
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
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By Danielle Allen and E. Glen Weyl
Advanced AI poses twin perils: the collapse of democratic control over key state functions and the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the few.
Plus the entire January 2024 issue, available free of charge for a limited time.
