"More than 85 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats, and 76 percent of Independents agree that 'elected officials very quickly lose touch with ordinary people.' The bipartisan nature of this perception indicates...[a] profound structural disconnect."

Restoring liberalism after illiberalism is no easy task: Leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure. Worse, their illiberal opponents stand to benefit either way.

"Polarization over issues is so sharp, and rival policy agendas have so few areas of overlap, that each camp preaches largely to itself, reinforcing its current members’ demands and anxieties and making zero effort to appeal across the aisle."

This article was our most-read Hopkins Press journal article in October! See the rest of last month's top 20 here: www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/top...

The world increasingly appears afflicted by “us-them” divides that breed anger, resentment, and violence. But across the globe small local groups are mounting a thoughtful resistance against polarization and hate.

"The deadly cocktail of autocracy and power has consistently threatened American security — in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and today," writes Michael McFaul in his new book, "Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder."

María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize has made her the face of the struggle for democracy in Venezuela. But throughout the opposition, women are the backbone of the fight against Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt authoritarian regime.

Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline to democratic movements operating in the most repressive places.

Capitalism is often blamed for democracy’s ills. But much of the blame is misplaced. It is not business capture of the state but rather state capture of business that poses the greatest danger to democracy.

Faith in democracy's ability to deliver is declining, but actually, democracies are better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies.

Repression is no longer confined to the borders of authoritarian countries.

It’s impossible to make peace with someone who doesn’t want it. But if there is any chance of stopping the killing in Ukraine, this is the path forward.

America’s promotion of democracy has always been highly imperfect. But the superiority of democracy—and the ideas that animate it—make it essential to securing America’s future.

María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize has made her the face of the struggle for democracy in Venezuela. But throughout the opposition, women are the backbone of the fight against Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt authoritarian regime.

Cuba's government saves its funds for itself, neglecting its citizens. "For decades, the Cuban state has built a reputation of serial default. Owing $4.6 billion, Cuba is the Paris Club’s second-largest Latin American debtor after Venezuela."

In Tanzania, "protests have not been tolerated, police brutality against protesters has become the norm, and the pace at which activists are arrested has accelerated."

Authoritarian regimes are targeting exiles and diaspora communities in more places than ever before. Activists, journalists, and regular people living abroad must watch their backs, because these governments now have the power to suppress dissent even outside their borders.

"Another outstretched hand simply grants Putin more time and confidence to wage a war he still thinks he can win."

"U.S. efforts to advance democracy have achieved limited results in the past two decades. But we succeeded during the Cold War in advancing democratic ideas. American leaders should learn from our past successes," writes Michael McFaul in his new book.

"For more than six decades, the Cuban regime has anchored its political survival in a single explanation for every failure it produces: the U.S. 'blockade.' It is invoked to justify the collapse of institutions, empty shelves and blackouts, and the exhaustion of daily life."

President Hassan sought to strongarm the country’s election, meting out repression, violence, and arrests to anyone who dares challenge her. Tanzanians have seen enough.

Women are under attack in Venezuela. "'75 percent of women earn less than USD 200 per month, and only 3 percent can afford the basic family food basket.' And between January and September 2024 alone, 127 women were murdered in Venezuela."

Putin hasn't responded to "carrots," notes Robert Person. It's time to try using "sticks." The U.S. must "...target Russian weaknesses, impose maximum pressure on Moscow in multiple domains, and shore up vulnerabilities in the Western coalition’s will," Person suggests.

The Cuban regime wants citizens to believe that the U.S. is starving Cuba. Actually, the regime is starving its own people.

"The protests unfolding in Tanzania are the latest signs that Tanzanian demands to control their own futures will not be easily repressed."

The election of Rodrigo Paz Pereira as Bolivia’s new president signals the end of the MAS era. But it is more than an end to Evo Morales’s leftist party. It showcases how Indigenous political power has transformed the country’s political landscape.

"Tanzania’s democracy, in her telling, is a civil and disciplined one, where the law comes before protest, administrative procedure before political rights, and decency before dissent."

"The deadly cocktail of autocracy and power has consistently threatened American security — in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and today," writes Michael McFaul in his new book, "Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder."

Protests have rocked Tanzania in response to the government’s attempt to strong arm the country’s national election.

"Tanzania is in flames. Protests erupted across a number of cities yesterday, as the country’s general election got underway. The government has responded with force. Police and military personnel have fired guns and launched teargas. Multiple deaths have been reported."

"The protests taking place now are without precedent in mainland Tanzania since the reintroduction of multiparty elections 33 years ago. Despite the steady reentrenchment of autocracy in recent years, widespread protests have not materialized until now."

"[If] the CCM regime eventually succeeds in repressing the protests, the viability of Hassan’s reform kabuki will be thrown into doubt...the depths of popular dissatisfaction, and the brutality of the crackdown already underway...[contradict] her claims of being a democrat."

President Hassan sought to strongarm the country’s election, meting out repression, violence, and arrests to anyone who dares challenge her. Tanzanians have seen enough. Has Tanzania reached its breaking point?

Although an island of stability and democracy in a region often short of both, Costa Ricans’ faith in government is declining as the challenge of financing its costly welfare state grows. This democratic stalwart is no longer immune to the appeal of populism. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Latin America remains haunted by the specter of “strongman” rule. Term limits have been a way of guarding against this threat, but aspiring autocrats have now found a new avenue to bypass this barrier to power: courts of law. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Artificial intelligence and its effects on democracy are a matter of choice, not fate. The concerns are longer term than the recent spate of worry about “generative” AI would suggest. The democratic conversation about AI has hardly begun. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

LAST DAY TO READ FREE! muse.jhu.edu/issue/5...

The Chinese Communist Party is dreaming an authoritarian techno-dream that is a democrat’s nightmare: ever more fine-grained state control made possible by using AI networks to pry and spy everywhere. But human unpredictability remains a force the party-state cannot tame. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism transformed Bolivian politics. But after almost two decades in power, the party is unraveling. No longer the country’s anchor, the MAS has become a major driver of instability and political decay. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

After a turbulent election cycle, with an incumbent leader postponing the vote and putting his thumb on the scale, voters elected a new president and, for the third time in Senegalese history, a new ruling party. How did the country keep its democracy from crumbling? muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

When Israel’s democratic safeguards came under attack, Israeli political scientists felt they had a duty to spread a shared, nonpartisan understanding of the dangers of democratic backsliding. Here is how they organized and reached the public. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

When the Soviet Union fell, Cuba did not democratize but instead was turned into a raw kleptocracy by Communist Party insiders. Decades later, this “mafia” has driven the country into the worst crisis in its history. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline to democratic movements operating in the most repressive places. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Authoritarian regimes are targeting exiles and diaspora communities in more places than ever before. Activists, journalists, and regular people living abroad must watch their backs, because these governments now have the power to suppress dissent even outside their borders. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

People are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies? On all counts, the answer is yes. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

LAST CHANCE! 👻 Read our October issue TODAY or TOMORROW to learn democracy’s major advantages over autocracy, the dangers AI poses for democracy, and the reasons why more activists are now turning to Bitcoin — plus essays on China, Cuba, Senegal, and more for FREE! muse.jhu.edu/issue/5...

Check out the excerpt from my latest book, published online by @jodemocracy.bsky.social

"An opposition victory is at best a prelude to democratic recovery....new leaders often find themselves constrained by the very political logics that empowered their predecessors, leading to the preservation rather than the reversal of autocratic practices." muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

"By imposing real penalties with decisive action, the West can show Russia that it is ready to get serious about ending the war and won’t be fooled by Putin’s usual delaying tactics. Only once Russia accepts...steps toward peace should any pressure on Putin be relieved."