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Articles by Marc Plattner
Is the “Third Wave” Obsolete?
In the 1991 classic, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Samuel P. Huntington offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory that became “unrivaled in its intellectual influence.” He identified three waves of modern democratization — when transitions from nondemocratic to democratic rule far outnumbered those in the opposite direction.
Getting Over the Third Wave
Samuel Huntington’s classic theory offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. But amid rising populism and aggressive authoritarian states, has Huntington’s thesis outlived its usefulness? By Marc F. Plattner June 2024 A half-century has passed since the “Revolution of the Carnations” was launched in Lisbon on 25 April 1974, heralding Portugal’s transition to democracy after nearly five decades of dictatorship.
Who Is Viktor Orbán?
Viktor Orbán, a proud advocate for “illiberal democracy,” has become a favorite of the far-right by using the tools of democracy against democracy. His secret? Restructuring Hungary’s political playing field in favor of his ruling party, effectively locking in his power with the force of law. The following Journal of Democracy essays examine Orbán’s strategies to gain and maintain power, while tearing up liberal democracy from the roots.
October Issue Out Now!
Will artificial intelligence end democracy? In a new special package on AI and democracy, top experts weigh in on what a fast-developing technology that promises superhuman intelligence means for humanity and the political life that governs us. Plus: Why global democracy is proving to be far more resilient than people think; how African church leaders became unlikely defenders of democracy; and the ways in which vast networks of hidden wealth are eating away at our democratic institutions.
Marc Plattner Has Quite a Bit to Say About Democracy
Marc Plattner is the founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy and the founding codirector of the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies. Until 2016, he also served as NED’s vice president for research and studies, and from 1984 to 1989 he was NED’s director of program. He is the author of Democracy Without Borders? Global Challenges to Liberal Democracy(2008) and of Rousseau’s State of Nature (1979).
The First Democracy
Select your citation format: MLA (Modern Language Association 8th edition)Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition (full note)APA (American Psychological Association 7th edition) A review of Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy, by Donald Kagan.
Why Ukraine Is Critical to Rebuilding Our Democratic Consensus
The case for liberal democracy remains powerful. It may get its biggest boost in the near term from success on the battlefields of Ukraine. By Marc F. Plattner July 2023 In an era when liberal democratic societies around the world are afflicted by intense political polarization, it is easy to understand the preoccupation of many citizens with rebuilding democratic consensus. But we need to reflect on the scope of the consensus that we are seeking to restore.
The Ghost at the Feast
The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941 by Robert Kagan (Deckle Edge, 688 pp., $28.49) Robert Kagan is one of America’s most prominent writers on international affairs, widely known for his columns in the Washington Post and a growing number of provocative short books.
Who Belongs in the Club of Democracies?
“Confronting the Authoritarian Challenge” was the title and focus of the Estoril Political Forum’s meeting this summer. The brief phrase does not explicitly indicate who must confront the challenge posed by authoritarians. The answer to this question can be left unstated because it is taken for granted: Those facing the challenge are, of course, the world’s liberal democracies. The authoritarian challenge to liberal democracy has two key dimensions.
Ukraine’s Fight Is Our Fight
The war in Ukraine calls for a re-examination of attitudes and assumptions about the modern world. Over the past six weeks, a radical realignment of the geopolitical situation has occurred; the players and factors driving contemporary geopolitics have shifted. And the world is finally recognizing the true Russia. For decades, the world had averted its gaze from unpleasant truths about Russia.
Choking on Our Feeds
Feed by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick, 299 pp., $9.69) In yet another example of people talking past each other online, there was a minor kerfuffle on Twitter in March about the apparently deleterious modern popularity of young adult novels. I followed this discourse with interest as a millennial whose early life was shaped by the genre, when young adult books carried less of the opprobrium and controversy they engender today.
Garrett Graff's new Watergate history
You've successfully subscribed to American Purpose Great! Next, complete checkout for full access to American Purpose Welcome back! You've successfully signed in. Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content. Success! Your newsletter subscriptions is updated. Newsletter subscriptions update failed. Success! Your billing info is updated. Billing info update failed. Why another book on Watergate? Garrett M.
In Praise of “Wonderfully Arrogant” Textbooks
In August of 1972, soon after I moved into my new home in Baltimore, a UPS truck stopped in front of my St. Paul Street apartment to deliver a truckload of boxes from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which I had just joined as a college textbook salesman. (Nowadays, it would amount to a handful of zip files.) Within an hour, I was knee-deep in hundreds of titles covering the floor.
Nationalism and the Struggle in Ukraine
Like so many other observers, I have marveled at Ukraine’s brave resistance to Russia’s brutal invasion and at the extraordinary popular backing it has received in the West. Everyone seems to grasp that a transformational change in Western public opinion has taken place that’s helped to alter the political landscape in many European countries and to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance.
Advantage Defense
One of the greatest military leaders to emerge during the Civil War was Confederate General James “Pete” Longstreet, one of Robert E. Lee’s corps commanders who participated in many of the decisive campaigns through the end of the war. On the climactic third day of the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Lee ordered Longstreet to attack the Union center. Longstreet disagreed with Lee’s order, which he believed would lead to a slaughter, but he felt obliged to obey and was proven disastrously right.
The Neo-Anti-capitalists
Foretelling the End of Capitalism: Intellectual Misadventures since Karl Marx by Francesco Boldizzoni (Harvard University Press, 336 pp., $35) A new book by Italian historian Francesco Boldizzoni, titled Foretelling the End of Capitalism: Intellectual Misadventures since Karl Marx, addresses two subjects: the nature of capitalism and the perils of scholarly forecasting. They are linked by the many forecasts from leading thinkers that have focused precisely on the future of capitalism.
American Purpose
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Journal of Democracy
Five years ago, the Journal of Democracy marked its twenty-fifth anniversary with an issue that featured a dozen authors responding to the question "Is Democracy in Decline?" The majority of our contributors replied in the affirmative, even though the view that democracy was in retreat was by no means widely accepted at the beginning of 2015. Today, however, as we celebrate the Journal's thirtieth anniversary in 2020, perceptions have fundamentally changed.
Righting Our Understanding of Human Rights
Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP The issue of human rights is less prominent in international affairs today than it once was. Political leaders, even in democratic countries, increasingly tend to downgrade it, if not neglect it altogether. This presents an especially striking contrast with the last quarter of the 20th century, during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath, when issues of human rights were often at the very center of events on the world stage.
Righting Our Understanding of Human Rights: A Tough Job
The issue of human rights is less prominent in international affairs today than it once was. Political leaders, even in democratic countries, increasingly tend to downgrade it, if not neglect it altogether. This presents an especially striking contrast with the last quarter of the 20th century, during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath, when issues of human rights were often at the very center of events on the world stage.
Illiberal Democracy and the Struggle on the Right
One of the biggest challenges to democracy today is posed by the dramatic change in the political-party landscape, especially in Europe but in some other parts of the world as well. Attention understandably has focused on the rise of a variety of populist candidates and movements, but what has enabled their rise is the drastic decline in support for the parties that had long dominated the political scene.
Liberal Democracy Is Not the Problem
There is no shortage of books by American conservatives attacking American liberals, and at first sight Why Liberalism Failed might appear to be just one more addition to the genre. But the book’s title is misleading, for its author, Patrick Deneen, a professor of political science at Notre Dame, offers a critique of contemporary conservatism as well.
Authoritarianism Goes Global
A new global competition in “soft power” is underway between democracy and autocracy, but only one side seems to be competing seriously. Many had assumed that the era of globalization would give democracies a huge advantage in this sphere, the basic argument being that a more open global political economy and the relentless flow of information across borders would boost open societies over repressive ones.
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