By Kemal Kirişci and Berk Esen There is less than a month to go until what will be by far be the most consequential presidential and parliamentary elections of recent decades. The results will determine whether Turkey will have an opportunity to return to the ranks of democratic countries or slide further into an autocratic... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf Elections in 2023 Saturday's election in Nigeria was among the most anticipated elections of the year. Every presidential election in Nigeria is significant, because it's the most populous country in Africa and the sixth most populous in the world. Moreover, it's population is increasing rapidly with projections to overtake the United States... Continue Reading →
Wendy Hunter is a Professor of Government at the University of Texas Austin. Recently, she cowrote an article with Timothy Power in the Journal of Democracy called “Lula’s Second Act.” Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. I do want to underscore this should not be read as a victory of... Continue Reading →
By Barry Burden A Judicial Election In the cold days of winter, a perfect storm has formed in Wisconsin politics. The storm is turning what would be a humdrum nonpartisan judicial election into an intense ideological showdown that may well shape state policies for years to come. The chair of the state’s Democratic Party described... Continue Reading →
By Giorgos Venizelos Cyprus 2023 Elections On Sunday February 5th, 2023 Cyprus is heading to elections to choose its 8th president in the 13th electoral contest since the institution of the Republic in 1960. Cyprus is a presidential democracy, meaning that the president is elected directly from the people upon receiving 50% plus one vote.... Continue Reading →
By Simona Kustec Background After the last parliamentary elections in 2018 the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDP) was a relative winner. Nonetheless, they were not able to form a coalition government. Instead, Marjan Šarec, as the second best by the election results formed a minority left-centered government. Still, he resigned just before the Covid-19 pandemic became widespread.... Continue Reading →
By Stephan Kyburz The Swiss Federal Council – Collective Executive Power On Tuesday, December 7th, the Swiss parliament elected two new Federal Councillors. While Albert Rösti (55) of the People’s Party (SVP) was elected as expected, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) of the Social-Democratic Party (SP) was a surprise winner, defeating the favored Eva Herzog (SP). Mrs.... Continue Reading →
By Lynette H. Ong Anwar's Victory After nearly a week of political stalemate, Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition and long-time prime minister-in-waiting has successfully assembled an alliance of political parties to become the leader of the ruling coalition and the 10th Prime Minister of the country. His ruling coalition is made up of... Continue Reading →
By Michael Nwankpa A Brief History of Democracy in Nigeria Nigeria’s fledgling democracy boasts of six elections and three changes of government. All these have happened since 1999 when Nigeria returned to civilian government after 16 years of consecutive military regimes. Most describe this period as the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic is Nigeria’s longest democratic... Continue Reading →
by Justin Kempf Undemocratic Political Mobilization Nothing is more democratic than the popular participation of its citizens. Indeed, democratic regimes institutionalize political mobilization through elections where popular participation is widespread and encouraged. However, political mobilization is not always democratic. Some politicians mobilize their supporters to instill fear in their opponents. People may mobilize against other... Continue Reading →
