Journal article
What democracy does … and does not do
- Abstract:
- This essay evaluates the real-world outcomes of democracy amid growing global democratic disillusionment. Drawing on extensive comparative research, the author argues that democracies generally foster longer lives, more education, greater peace, and sustained economic growth, though not always with consistent quality or speed. While autocracies sometimes achieve rapid gains, they also produce volatility, repression, and data manipulation. The essay highlights democracy's advantages in accountability, press freedom, and institutional checks, which collectively enhance societal well-being. The author concludes that, on balance, democracy offers the strongest odds for healthier, more stable, and prosperous societies.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
Actions
Access Document
- Files:
-
-
(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 419.8KB, Terms of use)
-
- Publisher copy:
- 10.1353/jod.2025.a970345
Authors
- Publisher:
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Journal:
- Journal of Democracy More from this journal
- Volume:
- 35
- Issue:
- 4
- Pages:
- 5-19
- Publication date:
- 2025-09-30
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-08-10
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
1086-3214
- ISSN:
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1045-5736
- Language:
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English
- Pubs id:
-
2301677
- Local pid:
-
pubs:2301677
- Deposit date:
-
2025-10-24
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University Press
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © 2025 National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University Press
- Notes:
- The author accepted manuscript (AAM) of this paper has been made available under the University of Oxford's Open Access Publications Policy, and a CC BY public copyright licence has been applied.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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