| In a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, Javier Corrales and Susan Stokes argue that there five ways that aspiring autocrats are typically shown the door. And the good news is that it’s usually at the hands of voters. Read this and all our latest online exclusives, plus — for a limited time — four seminal essays by top experts on democratic backsliding. |
| How Aspiring Autocrats Exit Viktor Orbán election defeat last month stunned many people. But in truth it’s not uncommon for would-be autocrats to lose at the ballot box. It’s a more hopeful picture than many people realize. By Javier Corrales and Susan Stokes |
| Ethiopia Is About to Hold Another Sham Election Ethiopia’s elections are more like performative rituals than democratic contests. But these hollow exercises are becoming more dangerous as the country stares down a series of looming threats. By Muktar Ismail |
| Why China Can’t Hijack Tibetan Buddhism The Chinese Communist Party has sought to control the Tibetan people by attacking their religious leaders. But the strategy has failed. Faith can’t be commanded or coerced. By Khedroob Thondup |
| How Hate-Speech Laws Crush Dissent Everywhere When democracies pass laws against hate speech and extremism, they are giving autocrats the cover they need for their own crackdowns. We shouldn’t let democratic norms become a blueprint for repression. By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff |
| How We Restore Turkey’s Democracy President Erdoğan’s rule has grown more repressive as he realizes he has no democratic path to power. But we are united in our resolve and determined to make Turkey a democratic republic worthy of its people. By Özgür Özel |
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| On Democratic Backsliding Old-fashioned military coups and blatant election-day fraud are becoming mercifully rarer these days, but other, subtler forms of democratic regression are a growing problem that demands more attention. By Nancy Bermeo |
| Why Elected Leaders Subvert Democracy Today, the principal challenge to democracy is coming not from coups but from democratic erosion driven by elected leaders. What is behind this shift, and how can prodemocracy forces push back? By Susan Stokes |
| Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all. By Thomas Carothers and Brendan Hartnett |
| The Anatomy of Democratic Backsliding Can we recognize the symptoms of backsliding before it’s too late? Though the signals are sometimes faint, a new study of sixteen cases around the world reveals key dynamics common to all. By Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman |
