Journal of Democracy
@jodemocracy.bsky.social
The Journal of Democracy: The smartest analysis on democracy and authoritarianism around the world. Reposts ≠ Endorsement. https://linkin.bio/jodemocracy
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 7:40 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 2:51 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 30, 2025 at 1:34 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 8:30 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 6:51 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM
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...
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
"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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
"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...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Policymakers must reduce their reliance on the perspectives of industry professionals to prevent the longer-term risks AI poses to democracy.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Policymakers must reduce their reliance on the perspectives of industry professionals to prevent the longer-term risks AI poses to democracy.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
The root cause of conflict on Cuba is the clash between citizens' needs and aspirations and the ongoing oligarchic plunder.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
The root cause of conflict on Cuba is the clash between citizens' needs and aspirations and the ongoing oligarchic plunder.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Despite opposition parties' promises to save democracy once elected, it is not uncommon for these parties to become seduced by the power of their predecessors' authoritarian machinery.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 27, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Despite opposition parties' promises to save democracy once elected, it is not uncommon for these parties to become seduced by the power of their predecessors' authoritarian machinery.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
"Ignoring or facilitating transnational repression increases the risk of creating classes of people who are alienated from their civic communities, with compounding damage to civic life and democratic participation."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 26, 2025 at 6:53 PM
"Ignoring or facilitating transnational repression increases the risk of creating classes of people who are alienated from their civic communities, with compounding damage to civic life and democratic participation."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"…Democracies are associated with more education in terms of average years of schooling, education spending, and student-enrollment rates across regions and levels of state capacity."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
"…Democracies are associated with more education in terms of average years of schooling, education spending, and student-enrollment rates across regions and levels of state capacity."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
"Cuba today is a fragile state where nothing works except the system of repression."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
"Cuba today is a fragile state where nothing works except the system of repression."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
"Inequality and social exclusion long pre-date AI, of course, but technology can add new force and extent to old evils: Consider how much scientific industry has done to heighten the lethality and destructive potential of warfare."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
"Inequality and social exclusion long pre-date AI, of course, but technology can add new force and extent to old evils: Consider how much scientific industry has done to heighten the lethality and destructive potential of warfare."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM