thesis statement for democracy

How to Write a Thesis about Democracy

One of my subscribers, Nadir, is asking, “How do I write a thesis about democracy?”

That’s a great question.

We’re going to break this task into three steps. Let’s do it.

Step 1: We’re going to break up “democracy,” meaning the concept of democracy, into more manageable parts.

Step 2: We’re going to come up with an overall structure, which is almost an equivalent of creating an outline.

Step 3: Finally, we’re going to write out the thesis statement. Let’s do it.

Step 1. How can we break democracy into manageable parts?

We’ll use the Power of Three because it’s the easiest way to break up a topic. The power of three just means using three supporting ideas as evidence in our body of the essay.

How can we divide democracy into three parts? How can we discuss democracy in three different ways or three different sections of a paper?

Supporting Idea 1. Early origins.

These would be the origins of democracy that take their root in Ancient Greece.

Supporting Idea 2 . Modern roots of today’s democracy.

So what would be the modern roots? The modern roots are the main thinkers of the Enlightenment and their ideas.

These are such prominent philosophers as John Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu.

The Age of Enlightenment is also known as the Age of Reason, and that is where today’s democracy really takes root.

Supporting Idea 3. Democracy today .

This would answer the question, how is today’s democracy different from democracy of the early origins, such as in ancient Greece, and during the Age of Enlightenment?

Step 2. Coming up with the overall structure.

We know that we have three sections because we used the power of three to get three supporting ideas. So, here is how we can structure our overall argument.

In section 1 , we’re going to talk about the ancient Greek origins of democracy.

In section 2 , we’re going to talk about its modern roots.

In section 3 , we’ll discuss democracy today.

What will these sections contain?

In Section 1 , we’re really talking about Athenian democracy. And we can subdivide this topic into more than one subtopic.

In ancient Greece, principles with which we are familiar were born. These include voting for rulers and to pass legislation. This could be one subsection.

But we can also note some peculiarities of that ancient kind of democracy.

For example, only non-slave men could vote, which made up only about 10-15% of the population.

As a result, we now have two subsections of main section 1. Essentially, we are talking about two things:

The familiar principles of Athenian democracy
The peculiarities of its early days

Section 2 is about the early modern roots of democracy.

We’re talking about some of the main thinkers. The two philosophers who come up right away if you do a search on Google are John Locke and Montesquieu.

These two names give us two subsections. See how it works?

Could we subdivide them further? How can we discuss Johns Locke and Montesquieu? Well, we can discuss them in terms of their ideas.

For example, John Locke was concerned with such concepts as equality, social contract, and private property. We can simply write about several concepts from each of these thinkers to have a neat little subsection about each one.

You can write a paragraph on equality, and then a paragraph on social contract, and so on.

In order to discuss these thinkers, all we would have to do is discuss their ideas. Since each of them had more than one idea, this gives us a wonderful way to keep writing.

How much you want to subdivide your sections will depend on how big your paper has to be.

If you need only three to four pages, maybe you don’t have to go that deep. But if you have to write a 10-page or a 15-page paper, this way of dividing into subsections would be very helpful to you.

Section 3 is about Democracy today.

Modern democracy has its similarities to the Ancient Greek origins and to the early modern roots. It also has its differences from them.

The similarities can include some of the main ideas that remain constant at all times.

The differences can include some of the peculiarities of each time period, such as voter rights or electronic or mail-in voting.

And we’re ready to write out our thesis statement, based on all the preparatory work we just did.

Step 3. Writing out the thesis statement.

We are totally ready to write this thesis statement.

And here we are.

Democracy is an ancient principle that has undergone changes and that is practiced in today’s society. It originates in Ancient Greece but was rediscovered during the period of Enlightenment in Britain and France. While today’s democracy shares elements with the ancient and early modern forms, it has its own distinct traits.

Let’s take a closer look at this thesis statement.

The first sentence should summarize your entire essay completely and perfectly. And that’s exactly what we’re doing here.

The remaining sentences must outline the supporting points. We combined the first two supporting points in the second sentence. And the third sentence is devoted to the third supporting point.

Let’s take a look.

And there you have it: three steps to going from one concept, which in this case is Democracy, to a full thesis statement.

I wrote a detailed tutorial on how to write a thesis statement on any topic . This would be your best next step.

Hope this was helpful!

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

Essays on Democracy

Democracy essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: the evolution of democracy: historical origins, principles, and contemporary challenges.

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the historical roots of democracy, its foundational principles, and the contemporary challenges it faces in the context of modern societies.

Introduction
Origins of Democracy: Ancient Greece and Beyond
Democratic Principles: Rule of Law, Freedom, and Participation
Democracy in Practice: Case Studies of Democratic Nations
Challenges to Democracy: Populism, Authoritarianism, and Erosion of Institutions
Electoral Systems: Voting Methods and Representation
Media and Democracy: The Role of Information and Misinformation
Conclusion: Safeguarding Democracy in the 21st Century

Essay Title 2: The Democratic Experiment: Comparative Analysis of Democratic Systems Worldwide

Thesis Statement: This essay conducts a comparative analysis of democratic systems in different countries, highlighting variations in practices, governance structures, and outcomes.

Democratic Models: Presidential vs. Parliamentary Systems
Democratic Variations: Federalism and Unitarism
Elections and Representation: Proportional vs. First-Past-the-Post Systems
Citizen Participation: Direct Democracy and Referendums
Case Studies: Analyzing Democracies in Europe, Asia, and the Americas
Democratic Challenges: Corruption, Voter Suppression, and Civic Engagement
Conclusion: Lessons Learned from Global Democratic Experiences

Essay Title 3: The Digital Age and Democracy: Technology, Social Media, and the Shaping of Political Discourse

Thesis Statement: This essay examines the influence of technology and social media on democratic processes, including their impact on political communication, public opinion, and election outcomes.

The Digital Revolution: Internet Access and Political Engagement
Social Media Platforms: Their Role in Disseminating Information and Disinformation
Filter Bubbles and Echo Chambers: The Polarization of Political Discourse
Online Activism: Grassroots Movements and Their Impact
Regulation and Ethics: Balancing Free Speech and Accountability Online
Case Studies: Examining Elections and Political Campaigns in the Digital Age
Conclusion: Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Democracy

Defending Privacy: a Pillar of Autonomy and Democracy

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Strengthening Democracy Through Ensuring The Rights of The Marginalised

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395 Democracy Essay Topics & Research Questions: Elections, American Democracy, and More

What is democracy? The word “democracy” has Greek roots. It combines two words: “demos,” which refers to people residing within a specific country, and “kratos,” which means power. Democracy ensures that all citizens have the same rights regardless of their background, race, religion, or sexual orientation. It also raises people’s sense of civic dignity.

In this article, we’ll explain how to write an essay on democracy and give some helpful tips. Keep reading to find out more.

🔝 Top Democracy Essay Topics

📝 Democracy Essay Prompts

💡 Democracy Research Questions
✍🏻 Democracy Essay Topics
🎤 Democracy Speech Topics
✅ Essay on Democracy: Outline

🔗 References

🔝 top 12 democracy essay topics.

Democracy as public justification.
Freedom and democratic authority.
What are the main problems with democratic governance?
The role of democracy in the modern world.
The development of democracy.
The influence of democracy on the young generation.
The connection between human rights and democracy.
What are the key features of democracy?
The value of democracy.
Democracy as collective self-rule.
The demands of democratic participation.
Limits to the authority of democracy.

The picture suggests topics for an essay about democracy.

Many students find writing a college essay on democracy to be a stressful task. For this reason, we’ve prepared some essay prompts and tips to help students improve their writing skills.

What Is Democracy: Essay Prompt

Democracy is a form of government that has played an essential role in reshaping societies from monarchical, imperial, and conquest-driven systems into ones founded on sovereignty and harmonious cohabitation principles. Here are some of the questions you can use for your essay:

What is the definition of democracy?
Why do we need democracy?
Where did democracy initially come into existence?
What distinguishes democracy from other forms of government?
Why is education important for democracy?
What is democracy’s primary flaw?
What poses the most significant risk to democracy?

Disadvantages of Democracy: Essay Prompt

One disadvantage of democracy is that it can sometimes lead to slow decision-making due to the need for consensus and majority agreement. There’s also a risk of overlooking the interests of the minority. Finally, democratic systems can be susceptible to manipulation and misinformation, potentially leading to uninformed or misguided decisions by the electorate. In your essay, you may focus on the following aspects:

The issue of corruption . A democratic leader is only in power for a limited time. As a result, there’s a tendency to make money through the use of authority.
Unfair business . Political leaders advocate unfair commercial practices to get support for political campaigns.
Misuse of media . Often, the media attempts to deceive the public to influence their voting behavior.

Democracy vs. Totalitarianism: Essay Prompt

Totalitarianism and democracy are opposing forms of government. Whereas democracy values equal rights and citizens’ participation in the government, in a totalitarian system, the leader’s word is the law, and the state has all the power. To compare totalitarianism and democracy in your essay, you may discuss these points:

Origin of totalitarianism and democracy;
Public opinion on these forms of governance;
Law and discretion;
Minority rights and their importance;
Internal enemies of totalitarianism and democracy.

Capitalism vs Democracy: Essay Prompt

Capitalism and democracy spread throughout the Western world during the 20th century. The fundamental distinction between the two concepts is that democracy is a form of government and a political system, while capitalism is an economic system.

In your essay, you can discuss the following questions:

What is the connection between capitalism and democracy?
What are the main goals and values of capitalism/democracy?
What does capitalism/democracy mean today?
What are the examples of capitalism/democracy?
Why is capitalism /democracy harmful?

💡 Research Questions about Democracy

How does a society’s education level impact the strength of its democratic institutions?
What role does media freedom play in promoting democratic values?
Relationship between economic development and political democratization.
How does income inequality affect the functioning of democratic systems?
What are the key factors that contribute to the stability of democratic governments?
How does the level of political participation among citizens influence the quality of democracy?
Researching the concept of democracy.
What is the role of political parties in shaping democratic governance?
How does the use of technology impact democratic processes and decision-making?
Asian economic development and democratization.
Does the presence of a strong judiciary contribute to the consolidation of democracy in a country?
How does the level of trust among citizens affect democratic practices?
What impact does gender equality have on the strength of democratic institutions?
The equality of income or wealth depending on democracy.
How does ethnic diversity influence the stability of democratic governments?
What role do non-governmental organizations play in promoting democratic values?
The democratic style of leadership.
How does government transparency impact citizens’ trust in democratic institutions?
How does the separation of powers principle contribute to democratic governance?
What impact do direct democratic mechanisms, such as referendums, have on decision-making processes?
How do political parties strengthen democracy?
How does the presence of independent media impact the accountability of political leaders in a democracy?
What is the role of civil society in ensuring the effectiveness of democratic governance?
Martin Luther Jr. “Jail Letter” and Aung San Kyi’s democracy excerpt.
How does the integration of minority communities impact the inclusiveness of democratic systems?
Does the involvement of citizens in local governance contribute to stronger democratic practices?
What role does the rule of law play in establishing a democratic society?
What are the impacts of social media on democracy ?
What factors contribute to the erosion of democratic norms and values?
What impact do international agreements have on the promotion and consolidation of democracy?
Democracy: pluralist theory and elite theory .
How does the role of money in politics influence the democratic decision-making process?
What impact do international human rights standards have on protecting citizens’ rights within a democracy?
What role does decentralization play in promoting democratic governance?
What is the impact of technology on democracy?
How does the level of government accountability impact the overall functioning of a democracy?
What is the relationship between economic development and the sustainability of democratic systems?
Comparison of democracy levels in Uruguay and Venezuela.
How does the level of political polarization impact the effectiveness of democratic governance?
What role do regional and international organizations play in supporting the nascent democracies?
How does the balance of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches influence democratic decision-making ?
What are the key challenges faced by young democracies?
What role does public opinion play in shaping democratic policies?
Middle East democratization.
How does the level of political corruption impact the functioning of democratic institutions?
What impact does globalization have on the democratic governance of nation-states?
What are the consequences of restrictions on freedom of expression in democratic societies?
Social media regulation and future of democracy.
What role do international democracy promotion programs play in supporting democratic transitions?
How do different cultural and historical contexts shape the understanding and practice of democracy?
Democracy and Western cultural values worldwide.
What factors contribute to democratic backsliding in countries that have previously experienced democratic transitions?
How does the presence of proportional representation contribute to inclusive and representative democratic governance?
What role do civic education and political literacy play in a democracy?
How does the level of social media usage impact the spread of disinformation and its effect on democratic processes?
African political parties’ endeavour for the implementation of the democracy.
How do citizen participation mechanisms, such as participatory budgeting, impact democratic decision-making?
How does the level of political party system fragmentation impact the effectiveness of democratic governance?
What role does the protection of minority rights play in establishing and sustaining democratic societies?
How does the level of regional integration influence the democratic governance and decision-making of member states?
The Australian Labor Party and the American Democrats: similarities and differences .
What impact does income distribution have on citizens’ satisfaction with democratic systems?
How does the presence of a strong civil service impact the capacity and efficiency of democratic governance?
What factors contribute to successful democratic transitions in countries with a history of authoritarian rule?
How does the level of trust in key democratic institutions impact overall democratic stability?
What factors contribute to economic failure in democracies?
What role does political leadership play in establishing and maintaining strong democratic systems?

Democracy and Elections Research Paper Topics

The impact of voter ID laws on democratic participation.
The influence of campaign finance spending on electoral outcomes.
Political participation and voting as democracy features.
The role of social media in shaping public opinion during elections.
The effectiveness of electoral college systems in representing the will of the people.
The effectiveness of international election observation missions in ensuring electoral integrity.
The impact of electronic voting systems on election integrity.
The role of political advertising in shaping voter preferences.
Low voter participation in democratic countries.
The relationship between political polarization and voter turnout.
The effectiveness of voter education programs in promoting informed decision-making.
The effect of voter suppression tactics on democratic participation.
The influence of party endorsement on candidate success in elections.
The impact of gender and ethnicity on political representation in elected offices.
Voting: democracy, freedom, and political agency.
The effectiveness of campaign debates in informing voter choices.
The influence of social factors and peer networks on political affiliation and voting behavior.
The effect of negative campaigning on voter perceptions and candidate success.
The role of non-traditional media sources in shaping public opinion during elections.
The role of technology in enhancing election monitoring and ensuring transparent and secure voting processes.
Electoral systems in a democratic country.
The influence of disinformation campaigns on voter behavior and their implications for electoral integrity.
The challenges and opportunities of implementing online voting systems for improving accessibility and election integrity.
The impact of non-voters and their reasons for not participating in the democratic process.
The impact of campaign advertising on voter behavior in democratic elections.
The role of social media platforms in electoral outcomes in democratic societies.
“The Electoral College Is the Greatest Threat to Our Democracy” by Bouie.
Electoral reforms and their effects on voter turnout and representation in democracies.
The influence of demographic factors and socioeconomic status on voting patterns in democratic elections.
The challenges and opportunities of implementing electronic voting systems to enhance the integrity and efficiency of democratic elections.

E-Democracy Research Topics

Digital divide and its implications for e-democracy.
Role of social media in promoting online political engagement.
E-government and democracy.
Challenges and opportunities for e-petitions as a form of democratic expression.
Cybersecurity challenges in ensuring secure and reliable e-voting systems.
Role of e-democracy in improving representation and inclusivity in decision-making processes.
Ethical considerations in the collection and use of personal data for e-democracy purposes.
Use of blockchain technology in enhancing transparency and trustworthiness in e-democracy.
The use of technology in promoting transparency and accountability in government.
American e-government and public administration.
Influences of online political advertising on voter behavior.
The potential of online deliberative platforms in fostering inclusive public discourse.
The role of online communities in mobilizing citizens for political action.
Effects of online platforms on political campaign strategies and communication tactics.
Use of technology in expanding access to information and knowledge for informed citizenship.
Strategies for building trust in e-government.
Evaluation of online political education programs and their impact on citizen engagement.
Open government initiatives and their role in fostering e-democracy .
Digital activism and its effectiveness in driving social and political change.
Online tools for monitoring and preventing disinformation and fake news in political discourse.
Role of digital identity verification in ensuring the integrity of e-democracy processes.
Challenges and opportunities for e-democracy in authoritarian regimes.
Public trust and perceived legitimacy of e-democracy systems and processes.

✍🏻 Topics for Essays about Democracy

Democracy argumentative essay topics.

The role of public protests in strengthening democracy.
The role of youth engagement in shaping the future of democracy.
Is the Democratic Party the Labour Party of the US ?
Should there be limits on freedom of speech in a democracy to prevent hate speech?
The tensions between national security and civil liberties in a democratic context.
Is direct democracy a more effective form of governance than representative democracy?
The United States is not really a democracy.
The significance of an independent judiciary in upholding democratic principles.
The importance of a robust and unbiased public education system for a thriving democracy.
Compulsory voting: is it compatible with democracy?
The impact of income inequality on democratic participation and representation.
The significance of constitutional reforms in addressing the challenges faced by democracies .
Does the digital age pose a threat to the principles of democracy?
Should prisoners have a right to vote in a democratic system?
Are referendums effective tools for democratic decision-making?
Democracy vs. other types of government .
Does the media have a responsibility to promote democratic principles and accountability?
Can a democratic government effectively balance national security and civil liberties?
Should there be limitations on the freedom of peaceful assembly and protest in a democracy?
Democracy is the tyranny of the majority over the minority.
Is the rise of populist movements a threat to democratic values?
Does globalization undermine national sovereignty and democratic decision-making?
Democracy: Durbin’s, Duckworth’s, and Krishinamoorthi’s positions.
Should judges be elected or appointed in a democratic system?
Is a strong independent judiciary essential for a healthy democracy?
Is the EU an example of a successful democratic regional integration project?
How can we provide political representation for non-citizens in a democratic society?
Is democracy a universal value, or should different cultures be allowed to adopt different governance models?
Democracy in the US: is it real today?
Should democratic governments prioritize economic growth or social welfare policies?
Should there be restrictions on the power of political parties in a democracy?
Is there a tension between individual rights and collective decision-making in a democratic society?
The role of national identity and multiculturalism in shaping democratic societies.
The effectiveness of citizen initiatives and participatory democracy.
Federal system’s pros and cons from a democratic perspective.
The importance of accountability and transparency in ensuring the functioning of democracy.
Should religion play a role in political decision-making in a democracy?
Does a two-party system hinder the development of democracy?
The influence of corporate power on democratic decision-making processes.
The tension between individual rights and collective needs in democratic societies.
Has the US government become more of or less of a republic, a confederation, or a democracy?
The role of education in fostering active and informed citizenry in a democracy.
Is a multi-party system more conducive to a healthy and inclusive democracy?
Should there be restrictions on political advertising to ensure fairness and transparency in democratic elections?
Should corporations have the same rights as individuals in democratic legal systems?
Is it necessary to separate church and state in a democratic society?
How democratic was the new Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Should there be mandatory civics education to promote democratic values and participation?
Should there be age restrictions on political officeholders in a democracy?
Should digital voting be implemented to increase participation and transparency in elections?

American Democracy Essay Topics

The historical development of American democracy: from the Founding Fathers to the present.
The significance of the American Constitution and its amendments in ensuring democratic governance in the United States.
Government: United States Constitution and democracy.
The impact of the American Revolution on the birth of American democracy.
The separation of powers and checks and balances in the US government.
The significance of the Bill of Rights in protecting individual freedoms within American democracy.
Democracy: the Unites States of America.
The challenges and opportunities of citizen participation in American democratic processes.
The contributions of influential figures such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton to the development of American democracy.
Dahl’s “How Democratic Is the American Constitution?”
The evolution of political parties in American democracy: from the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to the Democrats and Republicans.
The role of the Constitution in establishing and safeguarding American democracy.
The two-party system and democracy in the US.
The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on expanding democratic rights and equality in America.
The ways media influences public opinion and its impact on American democracy.
The influence of money in American politics and its effects on democratic processes.
American democracy v. the social democracy: the healthcare system.
The impact of the women’s suffrage movement on democratic participation and gender equality.
The role of activism and social movements in shaping American democracy .
The influence of third-party candidates on American democracy and election outcomes.
Advancing democracy in the United States.
The challenges and reforms associated with the electoral college system in American democracy.
The impact of the progressive movement on democratic governance and social welfare.
Democracy and tyranny in the United States.
The role of the American presidency in shaping and upholding democratic principles.
The historical relationship between religious freedom and American democracy.
The influence of the labor movement on workers’ rights and democratic policies.
Analysis of democracy in the USA.
The significance of the New Deal and Great Society programs in fostering economic fairness and democratic values.
The impact of the Cold War on American democracy and the preservation of democratic ideals abroad.
Democracy in the United States of America.
The challenges and reforms associated with campaign finance regulations in American democracy.
The impact of modern technology on American democracy, including social media, data privacy, and online political engagement.
Democracy in America: elites, interest groups, and average citizens.
The significance of presidential debates in shaping public opinion and democratic decision-making.
The role of state and local governments in American democracy and their relationship with the federal government.
The impact of the Electoral College on presidential elections and its implications for democratic representation.
Interest groups in the American democratic system.
The relationship between media bias and democratic discourse in American democracy.
The impact of the populist movement, both historically and in contemporary politics, on American democracy.
The role of the First Amendment in protecting and promoting free speech in American democracy.
“What Republicans and Democrats Are Doing in the States Where They Have Total Power”: analysis.
The influence of foreign policy decisions on American democracy and the balance between national security and democratic values.
American women’s historical struggles and triumphs in achieving suffrage and fighting for equal rights in American democracy.
The shifting nature of American democracy.
The impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on public discourse, democratic activism, and policy change.
The labor movement’s influence on workers’ rights, economic policies, and democratic representation.
The US democracy’s promotion in the Middle East.
The significance of federalism in the American democratic system and the balance of power between states and the federal government.
The importance of a free and independent press in American democracy.
Democratic traditions in early American colonies.
The influence of religious groups on American politics, democratic decision-making, and social policy.
The role of non-governmental organizations in promoting democratic values, human rights, and social justice in America.
Edmund Morgan: the views of American democracy.
The protection of minority rights and the principle of majority rule in American democracy.
The role of civil society organizations in promoting and strengthening American democracy.

Jacksonian Democracy Essay Topics

The main principles and goals of Jacksonian Democracy.
The impact of Jacksonian Democracy on expanding voting and political participation.
Andrew Jackson’s first inaugural address.
The role of populism in shaping Jacksonian Democracy.
The controversy surrounding Jackson’s Indian Removal policies.
The influence of Jacksonian Democracy on the development of the two-party system.
The impact of the “Kitchen Cabinet” and informal advisors on Jackson’s presidency.
The economic policies of Jacksonian Democracy and its effect on the national economy.
The antebellum capitalism and Jeffersonians and Jacksonians capitalist ideals.
The expansion of land ownership and westward expansion under Jacksonian Democracy.
The role of women in Jacksonian Democracy and the early suffrage movement.
The controversy surrounding Jackson’s veto of the Bank of the United States.
The impact of Jacksonian Democracy on Native American rights and sovereignty.
The legacy of Jacksonian Democracy and its influence on subsequent political movements.
The significance of the Democratic Party’s rise during the Jacksonian era.
Andrew Jackson presidency: society, politics, veto.
The impact of Jacksonian Democracy on the growth of economic opportunities for common people.
The relationship between Jacksonian Democracy and the rise of American nationalism.
The role of newspapers and media in promoting or opposing Jacksonian Democracy.
The controversies surrounding Jackson’s removal of government deposits from the Bank of the United States.
The response of marginalized groups, such as Native Americans and African Americans, to Jacksonian Democracy.
The impact of Jacksonian Democracy on the development of the American presidency and executive power.
The long-term effects of Jacksonian Democracy on American political and social identity.

Questions about Democracy for Essays

What are the key principles and values of democracy?
How does democracy promote individual freedoms and rights?
“Democracy and Collective Identity in the EU and the USA”: article analysis.
What are the different forms of democracy, and how do they vary?
How does democracy ensure accountability and transparency in governance?
Concepts of democracy and wealth.
What is the role of elections in a democratic system?
How does democracy promote political participation and citizen engagement?
Discussion of democracy assignment.
What are the main challenges to democracy in the modern world?
How does democracy protect minority rights and prevent majority tyranny?
What are the political concepts of democracy and nationalism?
How does the media influence democratic processes and outcomes?
What role do political parties play in a democratic system?
What are representative democracy and its constituents?
How does democracy address social and economic inequalities?
What is the relationship between democracy and human rights ?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of direct democracy?
How does democracy impact economic development and prosperity?
Democracy description as a political system.
What role does the judiciary play in a democratic system?
How does democracy address issues of social justice and equality?
What are the implications of globalization for democracy?
Can democracy exist without a well-informed citizenry and a free press?
Democratic and authoritarian states .
How does democracy respond to extremist ideologies and populism?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of representative democracy?
How does democracy promote peaceful transitions of power?
How does democracy foster social cohesion and national unity?
How does democracy ensure the protection of civil liberties?
What is the nature and performance of Indonesia’s new democracy?
How does democracy reconcile the tension between majority rule and minority rights?
What are the roles of civil society and non-governmental organizations in a democracy?
How does democracy deal with issues of environmental sustainability?
Democracy: evolution of the political thought.
What are the effects of money and lobbying on democratic processes?
How does democracy guarantee freedom of speech and expression?
What is the Canadian political culture and democracy?
What is the impact of education and civic education on democracy?
How does democracy address the challenges of pluralism and diversity?
What are the implications of digital technologies for democracy?
The French Revolution: failed democracy and Napoleon .
What role does international cooperation play in fostering democracy?
How does democracy address the power imbalance between different societal groups?
What are the reasons for the failure of democracy in South America?
What are the historical origins of democracy and its evolution over time?
How does democracy protect the rights of marginalized and vulnerable populations?
What are the political apathy and low voter turnout consequences in a democracy?
How does democracy handle situations of crisis and emergency?
Democracy as a socio-political phenomenon.
What is the role of public opinion in democratic decision-making?
How does democracy ensure fair representation and inclusivity ?
What are the mechanisms in place to hold elected officials accountable in a democracy?

🎤 Topics about Democracy for Speeches

The importance of democracy in safeguarding individual freedoms and human rights.
The historical evolution of democracy: from ancient Athens to modern-day governance.
The essential concepts and principles of democracy.
Democratic revolutions and their impact on shaping the world.
The role of citizen participation in a thriving democracy.
Exploring the concept of direct democracy: can it work on a large scale?
Backsliding of democracy: examples and preventive measures.
The role of media in fostering accountability in a democracy.
Striving for gender equality and women’s empowerment within democratic frameworks.
Democracy and efforts to emphasize it.
The influence of money and campaign finance on democratic processes.
Democracy and social justice: addressing inequalities and discrimination.
The impact of education in building a democratic society.
The Republican and Democratic parties: issues, beliefs, and philosophy.
Democracy and the environment: Promoting sustainable practices .
The relation between democracy and economic development.
Mexico’s globalization and democratization.
The significance of a strong, independent judiciary in upholding the rule of law in a democracy.
The potential benefits and drawbacks of digital technology on democracy.
Youth engagement and the future of democracy.
Democracy: equality of income and egalitarianism.
Democracy in the face of political polarization and extremism.
Democracy and cultural diversity : balancing majority rule and minority rights.
Democratic society and the capitalist system.
The importance of civic education in nurturing active and informed citizens.
Democracy and peace: how democratic nations tend to avoid armed conflicts.
The role of international organizations in promoting democracy worldwide.
The struggle for democracy: bureaucracy.
Social media and democracy: examining their impact on political discourse.
Democracy and global governance: the need for collaborative decision-making.
Democratization processes that have reshaped societies.
The implications of demographic changes on democratic representation.
The challenges of ensuring democracy in times of crisis and emergency.
Democracy and immigration: the role of inclusive policies and integration.
Corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The responsibility of democratic nations in addressing global challenges (e.g., climate change, pandemics).
The effects of fake news and disinformation on democratic societies.
Democrats and communists in 1950.
Democratic reforms: lessons learned from successful transitions.
The role of intellectuals and artists in promoting democratic values and ideals.
Democracy and the future of work: navigating technological advancements and automation.
Safeguard of democracy is education.
The importance of strong civil society organizations to democracy.
Democracy and national security: striking the balance between safety and civil liberties.
Representing the democracy of Florida.
The significance of a robust social welfare system in ensuring democratic stability.
Democracy and accountability in the age of surveillance and privacy concerns .
The future prospects of democracy: challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.
Democratic regime and liberation movements.
The role of transitional justice in post-authoritarian democracies.
Democratic decision-making: weighing majority opinion against expert knowledge.
The topic of democracy in various speeches.
Democracy and educational policy: the need for equitable access to quality education.
The influence of cultural, religious, and ideological diversity on democratic governance.
Democracy and intergenerational justice: balancing present needs with future aspirations.
Biden warns of US peril from Trump’s ‘dagger’ at democracy.

Democracy Debate Topics

Is direct democracy a practical and effective form of governance?
Should there be term limits for political officeholders in a democracy?
Social democratic welfare state.
Is compulsory voting necessary for a thriving democratic system?
Is money in politics a threat to democratic integrity?
Should there be limits on campaign spending in democratic elections?
Social democracy vs. social policy.
Should felons have the right to vote in a democracy?
Can social media platforms ensure fair and unbiased political discourse in a democracy?
Why does democracy work and why doesn’t it?
Is proportional representation more democratic than a winner-takes-all electoral system?
Should there be stricter regulations on political lobbying in a democracy?
Is it necessary to establish a global democracy to tackle global challenges?
Is the concept of majority rule compatible with protecting minority rights in a democracy?
Is populism a threat or an asset to democracy?
The struggle for democracy: how politics captures people’s interest?
Should the voting age be lowered to increase youth participation in democracy?
Should corporations have a say in democratic decision-making processes?
Is a strong centralized government or decentralized governance better for democracy?
Should the internet be regulated to protect its users from misinformation?
Is democracy the best form of government ?
Should religious institutions have a role in democratic governance?
Is international intervention justified to promote democracy in authoritarian regimes ?
Is a multi-party democracy more representative than a two-party system?
Should immigration policies be determined through democratic processes?

✅ Outline for an Essay About Democracy

We’ve prepared a mini guide to help you structure your essay on democracy. You’ll also find some examples below.

Democracy Essay Introduction

Would you like to learn how to write a strong essay introduction? We are here for you! The introduction is the first paragraph of your essay, so it needs to provide context, capture the reader’s attention, and present the main topic or argument of an essay or paper. It also explains what readers can expect from the rest of the text. A good introduction should include:

Hook . A hook is a compelling, attention-grabbing opening sentence designed to engage the reader’s interest and curiosity. It aims to draw the reader into the essay or paper by presenting an intriguing fact, anecdote, question, or statement related to the topic.
Background information . Background information provides context and helps readers understand the subject matter before delving into the main discussion or argument.
Thesis statement . It’s a sentence in the introduction part of the essay. A thesis statement introduces the paper’s main point, argument, or purpose, guiding and informing the reader about the essay’s focus and direction.

Hook : “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” ― Winston S. Churchill.

Thesis statement : Democracy has endured the test of time, and although other forms of governance have failed, democracy has stayed firm.

Essay on Democracy: Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs are critical in writing a great college essay. There are 5 main steps you can follow to write a compelling body paragraph:

Create a topic sentence.
Provide the evidence.
Explain how the evidence relates to the main points.
Explain why your arguments are relevant.
Add transition to the following paragraph.

Topic sentence : In a democratic system of governance, supreme authority rests with the people and is exercised through a framework of representation, often involving regular, unrestricted elections.

Supporting evidence : Democracy allows residents to participate in creating laws and public policies by electing their leaders; consequently, voters should be educated to select the best candidate for the ruling government.

Essay about Democracy: Conclusion

The conclusion is the final part of an academic essay. It should restate the thesis statement and briefly summarize the key points. Refrain from including new ideas or adding information to the conclusion.

There are 3 crucial components to the conclusion:

Rephrased thesis statement.
Summary of main points.
Thought-provoking or memorable closing statement.

Rephrased thesis statement : To conclude, democracy is a form of government that has proven its effectiveness and resilience in contrast to other governance systems.

We hope you’ve found our article interesting and learned some new information! If so, feel free to share it with your friends and leave a comment below.

Thesis Statements – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
How to Write a Five-Paragraph Essay, With Examples | Grammarly
Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University
Paragraphs & Topic Sentences: Writing Guides: Writing Tutorial Services: Indiana University Bloomington
How to Write a Topic Sentence (With Examples and Tips) | Indeed.com

414 Proposal Essay Topics for Projects, Research, & Proposal Arguments

371 fun argumentative essay topics for 2024.

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Writing in Government

How do i write a gov paper .

Expos teaches you about the fundamentals of writing an analytical argument. As you write papers in Gov, you are adapting the elements of argument to a particular audience: readers in the social sciences. These readers have specific expectations about how to present arguments and supporting evidence. Writing successfully in Gov requires you to identify those expectations in assignment prompts and then respond to them by making well-supported and clearly reasoned arguments.

__________________________________

"Everybody's work has to stand or fall on the basis of the arguments presented and the evidence." - Prof. Eric Nelson

Do the Exercise

In these exercises, you have two goals: to identify the common elements of essay prompts, and to learn strategies for developing arguments that respond effectively to the expectations presented by a given prompt.

Decoding Prompts

Developing a thesis.

What to Do:

Prepare by reading about the elements of paper prompts in the "Tips" tool to the right.
Read the three sample prompts below and select one to work with.
Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.
Write a 1-sentence version in your own words of the prompt you have selected. You can do this in the first “Re-write” box below the questions.
Try re-writing the other two prompts in a single sentence.

Please note that these forms are not monitored; no feedback will be sent at this time.

Sample Prompts

1. The traditional definition of democracy is captured by Schumpeter’s statement that democracy is the “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Is Schumpeter’s “free competition for the free vote” a sufficient conceptual and normative definition of “democracy”? What else, if anything, would you add to this definition?

2. The majority of Gov 97 has focused on state actors, but the Internet is a whole new non-state world that currently has little to no formal governance. Should the Internet be governed democratically? What does it mean to have democratic governance of the Internet? (Will there be elected bodies? Will the Internet be governed by democratic principles?) If you were on a committee to develop Internet governance, what democratic processes (if any) would you recommend? Why?

3. How do new technologies affect democratic politics? We have read a number of accounts of traditional forms of democratic participation and democratic institutions – choose one topic or outcome (e.g. elections, campaign finance, regime change, economic institutions, the welfare state, democratic peace etc.) that we have read about, and think about how new technologies challenge or add to traditional theories about that outcome.

( Taken from Gov 97, Spring 2015)

Understanding Prompts

Design and purpose.

Instructors have two main goals with most prompts: First, they want to test how well you’ve understood assigned material for the course and gauge your progress over the term. Second, they want to encourage you to think about certain questions in a way that may not be directly covered in the course materials themselves. In this way, prompts facilitates guided learning through writing.

In most cases, the instructor will have both of these goals in mind. Depending on the assignment, though, one goal may carry greater emphasis than the other.

Central Question

This is the main question that the instructor wants you to answer. It may be a yes/no question, where you need to agree or disagree with a given statement. Or it may be an open-ended question, where you need to develop your own line of argument. Either way, the central question is the core of the paper, i.e., the question your instructor is asking in order to test your knowledge about material from the course or to encourage you to develop a reasoned opinion based on that material. Your thesis statement should respond directly to this central question.

Example of a central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship?

Example of a multi-part central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today?

Supporting Questions

In addition to the central question, prompts typically include additional points to consider as you write your paper, and these points often come in the form of secondary or supporting questions. Supporting questions are meant to prompt your thinking and can help remind you of important debates that may exist within the topic you are writing about.

That being said, prompts made up of more than one question can be harder to decode. For one thing, the first question in the prompt is not always the central question, and it might be possible to interpret more than one of the questions as the central question. This ambiguity might be intentional (to allow students to write a range of essays), or it might be unintentional. For these reasons, it is always helpful to try putting the prompt in your own words. What is the central question being asked? And what is the central question your paper is answering with its thesis? What are the supporting questions being asked? And how will your paper answer those questions in relation to your thesis?

In the following example prompt, notice how the first set of questions (greyed out and in italics) form a multi-part central question about an idea of Aristotle and its relevance to the present day. The subsequent supporting questions provide a number of possible directions in which to elaborate on this question, but none of these supporting questions should be the main focus of an argument responding to this particular prompt.

Example:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today? How do modern democracies define citizenship? Do modern democratic institutions (representation, voting and elections, political parties) and/or the organized groups of civil society (voluntary associations, demonstrations, social movements) provide arenas for political participation? If so, how and why is participation valued? If not, why not, and how is the division of political labor justified?

Additional Cues

Prompts often provide cues about what should or shouldn't be the focus of a writing assignment. For instance, there may be debates or themes that have been raised in the course, but which are not meant to be the particular focus of the paper at hand. In the following excerpt from a prompt, you can see that Aristotle's definition of "citizen" is crucial, but the goal of the essay is to use the definition to make a further point, rather than getting bogged down in the definition itself.

Example from a Gov prompt:

In the Politics , Aristotle defined a citizen as someone who takes turns in ruling and being ruled, identified who was eligible (and ineligible) for citizenship, gave an account of citizens’ judgment, and set out reasons for popular political participation.

Restrictions

Prompts often include additional requirements that either guide or limit a writing assignment. These restrictions are usually straightforward requirements for the essay's form (how long it should be) or for its content (what question(s) it should answer and which sources or cases it should use).

You must analyze Aristotle’s text
You may pick just one or two government institutions or civil society groups to  illustrate your answer.
You must refer to at least two authors (in addition to Aristotle) in composing your  response.
Prepare by reading about the elements of thesis statements in the "Tips" tool to the right.
Read the sample prompt below.
Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.

Sample Prompt & Theses

Making reference to the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, construct an argument that addresses the following questions: When you consider the various theories you've encountered about the emergence of ethnic politics in your readings as well as in lecture, how well (or how poorly) do specific elements of these two cases fit those theories? What is the strongest explanation overall for why ethnic violence broke out in these two cases and eventually assumed the proportions it did? Does the same answer apply to both cases, or do different answers best explain Rwanda and Yugoslavia separately?

The Rwandan and Yugoslav genocides were similar in some ways. In other ways, though, they were different.
Ethnic politics leads to the emergence of ethnic violence.
I argue that ethnic politics is important for understanding violence in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and for explaining the genocides there.
Rwanda and Yugoslavia both experienced similar levels of ethnic politics and ethnic violence during the 1990s and followed similar paths to genocide.
Ethnic politics does not always lead to ethnic violence, but in cases where the state collapses like it did in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the path from ethnic politics to genocide will be similar.

Taken from Gov 20, Fall 2015

What is an Argument?

In the social sciences, an argument typically make claims about the way the world works. It argues that the world is one way rather than another, and explains why it is that way .

The first part of the bolded statement above is really important. In social science courses, you will rarely be asked to just summarize a set of facts. You will instead be asked to make assertions about how something came to be or how some phenomenon caused another.

This implies a counterfactual , which is a statement about how the world would have been, if something else had happened. For example, you might argue that polarization in American politics is caused by people moving to areas where most people share their political beliefs. This implies that if people didn't move to neighborhoods or cities with like-minded people, there wouldn't be polarization. But they do , so there is .

The first part of the bolded statement above also implies that you will give evidence to show us that your argument is correct.

The latter part of the statement, in turn, implies that you will show us the "why" of the phenomenon you're looking at: how exactly does it work?

Thesis Requirements

A thesis statement will be in response to a specific question, whether that question is explicitly asked in a prompt or is a question you have yourself developed in response to course readings or class discussions. Therefore, your thesis statement should clearly be an answer to a question!

Your answer should not just contain a "what is" statement, but a statement of "how" your argument works. What is the "mechanism" of your argument? If you say that wealth causes democracy, make sure the “how” or “because” is also clearly previewed in your thesis.

This is also your introduction to the reader of what the paper’s really about, and it is your chance to explain how the paper will work. It should prepare them for the direction the paper is going, so they know what kinds of evidence they should expect.

In college-level papers, thesis statements can be more than one sentence long. Being concise is good, but it's ok to have a slightly longer thesis statement if your thesis is somewhat complex, e.g., if there are two or three steps in the "how" part of your paper.

Scope Conditions

Most papers are not about making universal arguments that showcase everything you know, but about making an valid argument within a set of parameters that are either provided by the assignment itself, or that you decide to keep your argument clear and effective.

In writing, be clear: what are the “scope conditions” of your argument? In other words, under what conditions or in which cases is your argument valid?

Example: “In democracies,” i.e., not for every country we’ve looked at, but only for democracies.

Example: “Among late developers” i.e., only in those countries that developed recently.

Make sure your these boundaries are clearly stated in your thesis statement . Do you think it will be intuitive to the reader why you used these scope conditions in particular? If not, you may need to briefly explain why you're using them, either in the thesis statement itself or just before (or after) your thesis statement.

Evaluating Theses

Can readers take your thesis statement and test it like they would a hypothesis? Would they know what to look for in order to evaluate how well your argument is made? If so, it's probably a strong thesis.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested . For example, in the statement "wealth leads to democracy," we can imagine testing it by looking for wealthy countries that aren't democratic.

If readers can look at your thesis statement and come up new evidence to refute your claim, it might mean there's room for healthy debate on the topic--and it might mean there's a genuine weakness in your argument--but it also means you probably have a clearly written thesis statement!

A really common thesis-related problem for students is that readers don't know how to evaluate whether the argument is right or wrong . This idea of being able to test arguments against new evidence is what makes political science "scientific."

Additional Tips

Be direct, and own your answer. Don’t say, “The purpose of my paper is to show that economic development causes democracy.” Say, “Economic development causes democracy, because…”

But it is OK to use the first-person voice in political science! (Example: "Wealth is a necessary condition for democracy. I show this by examining all countries with an average GDP above $6,000 per year")

Make it clear where your thesis statement is. You don’t have to put the thesis statement at the end of a short, first paragraph...but this is common, because it keeps you from writing too much/too little introduction, and it’s often where your reader will look first (because it is so common!)

Avoid the word “prove,” which implies definitive proof (which is rarely possible in social sciences)

Avoid overly stylized language in your thesis statement, and keep it as clear, specific, and unambiguous as possible.

It’s ok to argue that sometimes things work one way, and sometimes another. For example, “wealthy countries are usually democratic, but sometimes they aren’t.” However, it’s much stronger to try and make this difference part of your argument---”Wealthy countries are usually democratic because [reason], but oil-rich countries are an exception because [reason].”

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Undergraduate
Honors Thesis

Writing Tips for Theses

Tips for writing a thesis proposal.

1. Find an area (or subfield) that interests you.

Look for a topic that combines personal excitement with scholarly potential. Does your past work at Northwestern reflect themes that run through the choices you have made? Do you find yourself selecting classes on a general topic or returning to a subject repeatedly? Is there a question or an event that has really captured your attention, or something happening in the world that appears puzzling and that you would like to make sense of?

2. Transforming a topic into a research question

Most first efforts at formulating a research topic are either too specific or too broad.

Questions that are too specific have a yes, no, or fairly easily reached empirical question. Examples of too specific questions include: Why was smoking in restaurants banned? What led to President Nixon’s near impeachment?

Broad questions, by contrast, lack focus and need to be narrowed and framed in a way that makes the topic researchable. The quickest way to make progress is to write a paragraph about the topic, and take it to Political Science faculty member to discuss.

As you reflect, ask yourself what specific concerns led you to the general issue? How did you first see the problem? What events stand out? Around what cases do the discussions revolve? Was there an important book, newspaper article or lecture that piqued your interest? Is there a recurrent argument about current affairs? Formulate questions with these specific facts in mind. Talk with others about the topic, including political science faculty members and TAs.

3. Formulate a research question in a way that widens its appeal.

Merely exploring a topic because it interests you is not enough; the thesis must pose a question that subsequent research attempts to answer or resolve. This question should be framed in a general way that highlights its importance. “Why was John Roberts confirmed to be a judge on the US Supreme Court” is probably too specific. It would be better to ask “What factors lead to success or failure in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices?” You may end up answering this question by looking at confirmation hearings across time or by a comparison of just two nominees. The key is that the question is important in its own right and that answering it provides insight that is useful beyond the specifics of the case.

Even with a carefully posed question, you still need to highlight its importance. Explain why it matters whether or not someone is confirmed for the US Supreme Court, and explain why confirmation is problematic enough to be worth 60 to 100 pages of analysis.

More advice on selecting a thesis topic and crafting a proposal are available at the following website:

http://www.charleslipson.com/How-to-write-a-thesis.htm

Concerning the Form of the Thesis

The watchword for writing a long research paper is structure . The format of your paper should reveal the structure of your thinking. Devices such as paragraphing, headings, indentation, and enumeration help your reader see the major points you want to make.

Headings can convey the major topics discussed in your paper. A research report typically contains four basic components:

Statement of the problem or theoretical question that gave rise to the research, and an explanation of why the problem or question is important to address.
Discussion of how the research was designed to clarify the problem
Analysis of the data or information produced by the research
Summary and conclusion of the study

Although you could include those sections in your report without separate headings, the underlying logic of your paper will be more readily apparent with headings that identify its basic components: (1) the problem, (2) research design, (3) data analysis, (4) summary and conclusion. Obviously, you can adjust or elaborate on these generic headings depending on your topic.

Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Parts of a Paper / How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis can be found in many places—a debate speech, a lawyer’s closing argument, even an advertisement. But the most common place for a thesis statement (and probably why you’re reading this article) is in an essay.

Whether you’re writing an argumentative paper, an informative essay, or a compare/contrast statement, you need a thesis. Without a thesis, your argument falls flat and your information is unfocused. Since a thesis is so important, it’s probably a good idea to look at some tips on how to put together a strong one.

Guide Overview

What is a “thesis statement” anyway.

2 categories of thesis statements: informative and persuasive
2 styles of thesis statements
Formula for a strong argumentative thesis
The qualities of a solid thesis statement (video)

You may have heard of something called a “thesis.” It’s what seniors commonly refer to as their final paper before graduation. That’s not what we’re talking about here. That type of thesis is a long, well-written paper that takes years to piece together.

Instead, we’re talking about a single sentence that ties together the main idea of any argument . In the context of student essays, it’s a statement that summarizes your topic and declares your position on it. This sentence can tell a reader whether your essay is something they want to read.

2 Categories of Thesis Statements: Informative and Persuasive

Just as there are different types of essays, there are different types of thesis statements. The thesis should match the essay.

For example, with an informative essay, you should compose an informative thesis (rather than argumentative). You want to declare your intentions in this essay and guide the reader to the conclusion that you reach.

To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you must procure the ingredients, find a knife, and spread the condiments.

This thesis showed the reader the topic (a type of sandwich) and the direction the essay will take (describing how the sandwich is made).

Most other types of essays, whether compare/contrast, argumentative, or narrative, have thesis statements that take a position and argue it. In other words, unless your purpose is simply to inform, your thesis is considered persuasive. A persuasive thesis usually contains an opinion and the reason why your opinion is true.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best type of sandwich because they are versatile, easy to make, and taste good.

In this persuasive thesis statement, you see that I state my opinion (the best type of sandwich), which means I have chosen a stance. Next, I explain that my opinion is correct with several key reasons. This persuasive type of thesis can be used in any essay that contains the writer’s opinion, including, as I mentioned above, compare/contrast essays, narrative essays, and so on.

2 Styles of Thesis Statements

Just as there are two different types of thesis statements (informative and persuasive), there are two basic styles you can use.

The first style uses a list of two or more points . This style of thesis is perfect for a brief essay that contains only two or three body paragraphs. This basic five-paragraph essay is typical of middle and high school assignments.

C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series is one of the richest works of the 20th century because it offers an escape from reality, teaches readers to have faith even when they don’t understand, and contains a host of vibrant characters.

In the above persuasive thesis, you can see my opinion about Narnia followed by three clear reasons. This thesis is perfect for setting up a tidy five-paragraph essay.

In college, five paragraph essays become few and far between as essay length gets longer. Can you imagine having only five paragraphs in a six-page paper? For a longer essay, you need a thesis statement that is more versatile. Instead of listing two or three distinct points, a thesis can list one overarching point that all body paragraphs tie into.

Good vs. evil is the main theme of Lewis’s Narnia series, as is made clear through the struggles the main characters face in each book.

In this thesis, I have made a claim about the theme in Narnia followed by my reasoning. The broader scope of this thesis allows me to write about each of the series’ seven novels. I am no longer limited in how many body paragraphs I can logically use.

Formula for a Strong Argumentative Thesis

One thing I find that is helpful for students is having a clear template. While students rarely end up with a thesis that follows this exact wording, the following template creates a good starting point:

_____ is true because of _, _, and _____.

Conversely, the formula for a thesis with only one point might follow this template:

_ is true because of ___.

Students usually end up using different terminology than simply “because,” but having a template is always helpful to get the creative juices flowing.

The Qualities of a Solid Thesis Statement

When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is.

Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions. Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause (the opinion) and a dependent clause (the reasons). You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long.

Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences.

Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable. This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true.

Example of weak thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easy to make because it just takes three ingredients.

Most people would agree that PB&J is one of the easiest sandwiches in the American lunch repertoire.

Example of a stronger thesis:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are fun to eat because they always slide around.

This is more arguable because there are plenty of folks who might think a PB&J is messy or slimy rather than fun.

Composing a thesis statement does take a bit more thought than many other parts of an essay. However, because a thesis statement can contain an entire argument in just a few words, it is worth taking the extra time to compose this sentence. It can direct your research and your argument so that your essay is tight, focused, and makes readers think.

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Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

Explain the analysis of the college admission process
Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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Knowledge Base
How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

Start with a question
Write your initial answer
Develop your answer
Refine your thesis statement

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What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

Why you hold this position
What they’ll learn from your essay
The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

It gives your writing direction and focus.
It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

Ask a question about your topic .
Write your initial answer.
Develop your answer by including reasons.
Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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By the People: Essays on Democracy

Harvard Kennedy School faculty explore aspects of democracy in their own words—from increasing civic participation and decreasing extreme partisanship to strengthening democratic institutions and making them more fair.

Winter 2020

By Archon Fung , Nancy Gibbs , Tarek Masoud , Julia Minson , Cornell William Brooks , Jane Mansbridge , Arthur Brooks , Pippa Norris , Benjamin Schneer

The basic terms of democratic governance are shifting before our eyes, and we don’t know what the future holds. Some fear the rise of hateful populism and the collapse of democratic norms and practices. Others see opportunities for marginalized people and groups to exercise greater voice and influence. At the Kennedy School, we are striving to produce ideas and insights to meet these great uncertainties and to help make democratic governance successful in the future. In the pages that follow, you can read about the varied ways our faculty members think about facets of democracy and democratic institutions and making democracy better in practice.

Explore essays on democracy

Archon fung: we voted, nancy gibbs: truth and trust, tarek masoud: a fragile state, julia minson: just listen, cornell william brooks: democracy behind bars, jane mansbridge: a teachable skill, arthur brooks: healthy competition, pippa norris: kicking the sandcastle, benjamin schneer: drawing a line.

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Democracy’s Arc: From Resurgent to Imperiled

Larry Diamond

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The Journal of Democracy began publishing in 1990 in an era of hopeful, even exhilarating, expansion of democracy around the world. Democracy was on the march not only literally—on the ground and at the ballot box—but normatively and intellectually. Yet even at the peak of democracy’s third wave in the mid-1990s, scholars were worrying about the shallow nature of many democratic regimes. These illiberal, poorly governed democracies were identified as prime candidates for erosion, and many of the have since failed or oscillated. Beginning in 2006, the world entered a period of global democratic recession that has gathered considerable momentum in recent years. Now, with the deterioration of democratic norms and institutions in the United States, the growing doubts about democracy’s efficacy, and the resurgence of authoritarian power and belligerence (led by China and Russia), democracy faces its most daunting test in many decades.

A longer version of this essay, with additional reflections on the evolution of the Journal ’ s work, is available here .

“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”

—Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, 1963

W hen Marc Plattner and I began preparing to launch this journal early in 1989, democracy was resurgent globally, but far from dominant. What Samuel P. Huntington would soon call “democracy’s third wave” had already spread from Southern Europe to Latin America to Asia, increasing the percentage of states that were democracies from a quarter in 1974 to about 40 percent at the end of 1988. 1 As we prepared to launch a new kind of publication that would inform scholars, students, activists, and policymakers around the world, we believed that we were riding a historical wave that would transform the world. But we did not assume its inevitability, and we did not imagine the scope and speed of the political transformation that was looming.

By the time our first issue went to press toward the end of 1989, the Berlin Wall had been torn down by the people whom it had held captive for decades , and the Soviet bloc was crumbling. After five years of opening under Mikhail Gorbachev, the decrepit Soviet Union itself had entered a twilight period. By the end of 1991, it was no more. Transitions to democracy were then well underway in most of Central and Eastern Europe, Nelson Mandela had been released in South Africa, civil society had toppled a dictatorship in Benin, and other longstanding African dictatorships were on the defensive. Seemingly impregnable dictators soon fell in Zambia, Kenya, and Malawi. By 1994, some forty countries had transited to democracy within the space of half a decade.

About the Author

Larry Diamond is senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, and founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy .

View all work by Larry Diamond

This was the hopeful—and at times thrilling—context of the Journal of Democracy ’ s early years, a period in which the liberal democracies were regarded as “the only truly and fully modern societies.” 2 Democracy was on the march not only literally—on the ground and at the ballot box—but normatively and intellectually. From both the left and the right, intellectuals like Nigeria’s Claude Ake and Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa were making the case for democracy as the best and historically necessary form of government. 3 In 1999, at the end of the Journal ’ s first decade, Indian economist Amartya Sen decisively rebutted Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew’s thesis that autocracies are preferable as engines of economic development and stability. Beyond its selective, “sporadic,” and hence faulty empiricism—which ignores the frequent staggering developmental failures of autocracy—the Lee argument failed on both intrinsic and instrumental grounds. Intrinsically, Sen argued, democracy is important because it meets essential human needs for political participation and freedom. Instrumentally, it gives people—not least, the poor—the ability to voice their needs and be heard. 4

Across diverse regions, the rule of dictatorships had left a trail of tears: brutal human-rights abuses, pervasive fear, massive corruption, and often economic stagnation or ruin. In Latin America, this sobered both citizens and politicians, producing (especially on the left) what Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan termed “the increased valorization of democracy as an important end that needed to be protected in and for itself.” 5 Inspired by the rising tide of freedom, repulsed by the cruelties of authoritarian rule, and in some countries (especially in East Asia) transformed by growing incomes, education, and integration into the West, public opinion around the world swung strongly in favor of democracy as the best form of government. 6 By 1995, a clear majority of countries in the world had become democracies. In the decade that followed, democracy would continue to expand across the world, albeit at a slower pace.

Even then, years before democracy’s present headwinds, I began worrying about the problem of democratic shallowness and inauthenticity. Part of this came from my growing concern about the limits and deep contradictions of democracy in Latin America, which had initially seemed advantaged by its prior democratic experience, its proximity to the United States, a regional architecture for democratic defense, and at-least-middling levels of economic development. One memory had stayed with me from years earlier: At a conference on democracy in the Americas hosted by the Carter Center late in 1986, I got a rude awakening when Guatemalan president Vinicio Cerezo declared: “I have ten percent of the power in my country.” The rest, he said, was controlled by the military and various hidden, wealthy elites. How real and effective can the formal institutions of democracy be when they are overwhelmed by hidden forces, “reserve domains” of military power, or “authoritarian enclaves” of local bosses and mafias? 7 In 1993, Guillermo O’Donnell warned about the limited reach of the legal state in Latin America, beyond which lie vast “brown areas” informally but quite effectively controlled by “patrimonial, sultanistic, or simply gangsterlike” powers. These are worlds of “extreme violence” and predation that “coexist with a regime that, at least at the national political center, is democratic.” 8 My assessment of democracy in Latin America in the 1990s similarly led me to concern about the “illiberal nature of ‘democracy’” in the region. I argued that shallow democracy renders a country more susceptible to a total breakdown of the constitutional order, and that democratic regimes cannot become secure unless they broadly respect human rights and institutionalize constraints on the power of key political actors. 9 Since then, some Latin American countries have moved forward, others back, but democracy remains a partial, troubled, and contested reality that has recently shown growing signs of unraveling.

A Farewell Message This issue is my 129th and last as coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. For the past 32 years, the work of shaping and editing our coverage of democracy’s challenges has been a calling and a privilege. For a young scholar of comparative democracy, the opportunity to partner in conceiving, launching, and editing the Journal was the chance of a lifetime, and I cannot imagine having had the same career of scholarship and advocacy without it. I would like to thank the Journal ’ s publisher, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and staff for their friendship, dedication, and exemplary work—especially former NED president Carl Gershman and the Journal ’ s founding coeditor, Marc Plattner, for their support and solidarity over three decades. From his perch heading the NED’s International Forum for Democratic Studies, Marc was the ideal working partner in every respect—intellectually rigorous, normatively steadfast, prudent, well organized, creative, and empathetic. I felt we made an effective “inside-outside” team. Carl Gershman gave us not only tangible support as president of the NED, but also constant intellectual and moral inspiration. Christopher Walker, who now leads the NED’s International Forum, has been a vital partner, key ally, and promoter of our work. Will Dobson has proven to be a gifted and worthy successor to Marc as coeditor of the Journal, bringing to the role far-reaching knowledge, superb editorial judgement, and fierce intellectual integrity. I am also confident that my successor, Professor Tarek Masoud of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, will help take the Journal to new horizons. A longtime member of our editorial board, Tarek is committed to the high standards and deep analysis that are our signature, and he brings a brilliant mind, strong moral commitment, and fresh analytic perspective to the work. I am deeply grateful to the dedicated and talented people who have served on the Journal ’ s staff over the years, particularly our executive editor, Phil Costopoulos, who has done so much to shape the style of these pages, especially their crisp, accessible, and engaging prose. With the incredibly sharp and thoughtful Tracy Brown recently returning to the Journal as senior editor, Brent Kallmer as our creative and efficient managing editor, and Justin Daniels as our prodigiously energetic assistant editor, the Journal team has never been stronger. Finally, I thank the many extraordinary scholars of democracy who have served on our editorial board, contributed essays, and advised us in many ways. While Seymour Martin Lipset, Juan Linz, Alfred Stepan, Samuel Huntington, and Guillermo O’Donnell are no longer with us, the debt that we (and I personally) owe them is enormous and can never fully be repaid. —Larry Diamond

It is impossible for democracy to become consolidated when lawlessness reigns, corruption is rampant, and the state is weak. As Francis Fukuyama has stressed, good governance —or at least initially decent, as opposed to predatory, governance—is key to democracy’s long-term prospects. 10 Badly governed, poorly performing democracies are accidents waiting to happen. At some point, a crisis or an antidemocratic force will emerge—the military, an insurgent movement, or an authoritarian demagogue like Vladimir Putin or Hugo Chávez—and knock them over. If there is a holy grail for democratic development, in my view good governance is it.

But how does good governance emerge out of historical and social circumstances of weak laws, courts, bureaucracies, and other formal institutions? This can only be done by the conscious work of leaders, organizations, and reform coalitions, sometimes with the assistance of other states and outside institutions. 11 Political and civic agency, strategy, and choice—or to use a word strangely rare in political science these days, “leadership”—matter. Most success stories have benefited from capable and dedicated (though hardly angelic) leaders who were committed to democracy, respectful of its institutions, and savvy about building and broadening coalitions and gradually strengthening institutions. Many scholars emphasize that the scope for political “agency” is often strictly limited by structural conditions and institutional arrangements. But many of the institutions (representative parties, suitable electoral systems, inclusive rules, competent states, independent courts) that have helped democracies to endure are the historical product of prior periods of political crafting by democratic leaders in government and civil society.

Nevertheless, democracies do not rise or fall in a global vacuum. A key contribution of Huntington’s landmark 1991 book, The Third Wave, was to demonstrate the crucial impact of the international context of prevailing norms, ideas, models, and trends, and how the policies and actions of powerful democracies—and their power relative to autocracies—shaped the global fate of freedom. During the third wave, U.S. and European pressure, diplomatic engagement, and support often tipped the balance toward a successful transition (or away from democratic demise) in precarious circumstances. A later comparative study found that Western technical assistance, training, intellectual engagement, diplomatic pressure, and financial support for independent media and NGOs all figured prominently in successful democratic transitions but were notably weaker or absent in failed transitions. 12

A healthy appreciation for the role of agency counsels us against a false sense of security about democracy’s fate—that once “consolidated,” democracies are inevitably here to stay. By the mid-1990s, several Western democracies, including the United States, were showing signs of political decay, distrust, and declining civic and political engagement. In 1995, Robert Putnam called attention to a particular dimension of this problem—America’s declining social capital—in his famous article “Bowling Alone,” which remains one of the most read articles in the history of the Journal . 13 That same year Juan Linz, Seymour Martin Lipset, and I offered our own warning:

It is a dangerous fallacy to view consolidation as a one-time, irreversible process. Democracies come and go. Over time, they may become legitimated, institutionalized, and consolidated. But as their institutions decay and democratic beliefs and practices erode, they may also become deconsolidated. . . . Even established democracies have demagogues who blame the failings of society on democracy itself. One should not assume that in the face of severe societal crisis and prolonged governmental inefficacy and corruption, these demagogues could not gain a wider following. 14

The Accelerating Democratic Recession

In 1996, I raised the possibility that the third wave might be giving way to stagnation or reversal, due to the growing gap between the electoral minimum of democracy and the rest of its liberal essence. Many third-wave democracies (or regimes loosely labeled as such, like Pakistan’s) were staggering on at a very superficial level, while suffering elite assaults on constitutional norms that threatened “death by a thousand subtractions.” Unless democracy was deepened and institutionally strengthened, many democracies would fail. And this deepening required, I argued then (and still do), that the established liberal democracies “show their own continued capacity for democratic vitality, reform, and good governance,” while working consciously “to promote democratic development around the world.” 15

It gives me no satisfaction that many of my worst fears have been realized. Pakistan’s shallow “democracy” fell in a military coup in October 1999. Several of the other major democracies that I worried about at the time have clearly failed (Bangladesh and Turkey) or oscillated (Sri Lanka) or descended deeply into what Thomas Carothers called the “gray zone” of regime ambiguity (the Philippines). Of thirty strategic swing states that I identified in 1999, 16 only Taiwan and the Czech Republic have maintained a high level of liberal democracy or progressed substantially in that direction. Democracy has been retreating at least somewhat in South Korea and, under the leadership of populist, illiberal leaders and parties, substantially in Brazil, India, Mexico, and Poland. 17 In addition to Bangladesh and Turkey, democracy broke down in Russia and Thailand, and it is now once again threatened by severe political polarization in Chile, weak governance in South Africa, and Russian meddling and aggression in Ukraine.

The above is only a very partial list of democracy’s setbacks. In global aggregate, the democratic recession did not actually begin until around 2006. Since then, levels of freedom and democracy have steadily declined, fewer countries have made transitions to democracy, and many more democracies (almost all of them illiberal) have broken down. Several liberal democracies have declined in quality, and at least one (Hungary) has ceased to be a democracy at all. Several electoral democracies (such as Peru) are hanging by a thread; the only Arab democracy (Tunisia) has suffered an executive coup; and the most promising African democracy (Ghana) has been quietly deteriorating under the weight of rising corruption and disaffection. Several competitive authoritarian regimes (Cambodia, Nicaragua, and Uganda) are no longer the least bit competitive, and the weightiest authoritarian regimes (China and Russia, but also Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) are now significantly more so. Finally, rather than sustaining vitality and self-confidence, some of the leading liberal democracies (most alarmingly, the United States) have been on a glide path toward polarization and decay.

For a decade, the democratic recession was sufficiently subtle, incremental, and mixed that it was reasonable to debate whether it was happening at all. 18 But as the years have passed, the authoritarian trend has become harder to miss. For each of the last fifteen years, many more countries have declined in freedom than have gained (reversing the pattern of the first fifteen post–Cold War years). By my count, the percentage of states (with populations over one million) that are democracies peaked in 2006 at 57 percent and has steadily declined since, dropping below a majority (to 48 percent) in 2019 for the first time since 1993. 19 Every annual global assessment now warns of a serious downward spiral, as in the titles of the most recent Freedom House survey, “Democracy Under Siege,” 20 and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) report, “Autocratization Turns Viral.” 21 The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2020 Democracy Index found that under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, democracy scores declined in nearly 70 percent of the countries tracked, while “the global average score fell to its lowest level since the index began in 2006.” 22

We have recently entered a more ominous phase of the democratic recession, evocative of Huntington’s reverse waves. More troubling than the aggregate numbers are the qualitative trends and where they are taking place. The world’s most populous democracy, India, is experiencing a diffuse assault on the normative and constitutional underpinnings of liberal democracy: political and intellectual pluralism; tolerance of ethnic and religious minorities; judicial independence and bureaucratic professionalism; and freedom of the media and civil society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is following a trajectory hauntingly familiar to those who have watched the gradual destruction of democracy in countries such as Turkey, and because of India’s emerging-market size and vital strategic importance as a counterweight to China, no major democracy wishes to call it out. The other big and influential democracies of the global South are also in trouble, due as well to authoritarian populist leaders (in Brazil and Mexico) or weak institutions and rising social stresses (in South Africa and Indonesia). The Philippines may next year elect as president the son of the last dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, and perhaps then complete its slide back into autocracy.

Stoking this worldwide backsliding has been the steady, shocking decline of democracy in the United States, which the Economist Intelligence Unit rates as a “flawed democracy.” Western Europe’s democratic troubles have been fed by the declining programmatic distinctiveness, creativity, and responsiveness of mainstream parties. Gripped by many of the same underlying stresses—economic dislocation, rising inequality, immigration pressures, identity divisions, and the explosive inflammation of these by social media—U.S. democracy has decayed differently. Partisan polarization, skillfully exploited by demagogic forces, has followed the same toxic downward spiral that has undermined democracy in Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and Venezuela. As Jennifer McCoy and Murat Somer explain, polarizing social forces and political strategies generate a deep societal rift, an “us versus them” intergroup logic, and the collapse of cross-cutting social ties, which Seymour Martin Lipset and many other scholars have viewed as crucial to the health of democracy. 23 As the boundaries of in-group loyalty and interaction harden, mutual respect and tolerance give way to distrust, stereotyping, prejudice, and enmity between members of deeply hostile political camps. Each side comes to view the other as an existential threat, straining and then rupturing respect for democratic norms and rules. 24 The problem is made worse, William Galston argues, by deep tensions in the nature of liberal democracy that render it vulnerable to reassertions of nationalism and traditionalism. “Individualism gives rise to the desire for denser communities. Egalitarianism strains against the desire for status and distinction. . . . Diversity produces a craving for unity; tedious negotiation for swift and decisive leadership.” 25

It is not just political behavior that has taken the United States to the brink of constitutional crisis. Rising proportions of Americans in both camps express attitudes and perceptions that are blinking red for democratic peril. Common political ground has largely vanished. An October 2020 Pew poll found that “roughly eight-in-ten registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about core American values, and roughly nine-in-ten—again in both camps—worried that a victory by the other would lead to ‘lasting harm’ to the United States.” 26 A February 2021 survey documented deep partisan divisions over the legitimacy of the last presidential election, with most Republicans but very few Democrats believing that there was widespread voter fraud. Nearly three in ten Americans (29 percent), and 39 percent of Republicans, were ready to endorse “violent actions” by “the people . . . themselves” to “protect America” if elected leaders fail to do so. 27

A growing number of politicians and elected officials in the United States have been willing to bend or abandon democratic norms in the quest to achieve or retain power—and in retaining power, to barricade the party in it as a kind of permanent right, through restrictions on voting, politicization of electoral administration, and increasingly audacious and scientific gerrymandering that seeks to foreclose electoral alternation. Even in the wake of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, most Americans have still not come to grips with how far the country has strayed from the minimum elements of normative and behavioral consensus that sustain democracy, what Robert A. Dahl called the “system of mutual security,” in which competing political forces commit to tolerating the other and playing peacefully by the rules of the democratic game. 28 Every major scholar of democracy has recognized the fundamental need in a democracy for competitors to: 1) accept the legitimacy of their political rivals, and their right to compete; 2) trust that their rivals will not seek to eliminate them if they come to power; and 3) accept the consequences of fairly administered elections. This all requires, as Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt note, not just “mutual toleration” but also political “forbearance”—self-restraint in the exercise of power, rejection of violence, and respect for democracy’s unwritten rules and limits. 29 As these two master norms have begun disintegrating, democracy in the United States has begun to deconsolidate and is at serious risk of breaking down in the next presidential election.

Resurgent Authoritarianism

As my longtime coeditor, Marc Plattner, observed in our thirtieth-anniversary issue, “We are relearning the lesson that geopolitics matters deeply for the fate of democracy.” 30 It is no coincidence that the heyday of democratic expansion—the decade of the 1990s—was also what Charles Krauthammer dubbed “the unipolar moment,” when the United States stood at “the center of world power” as “the unchallenged superpower . . . attended by its Western allies.” 31 Already during the late 1970s and especially the 1980s, the power and will of the United States to defend human rights and promote democracy were giving hope and help to movements for democratic change, while ushering embattled autocrats out of power. Then, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the absence of other powerful autocracies enabled the United States, key European democratic allies, and the European Union to support and encourage democratic change on an unprecedented scale. Democratic forces around the world were emboldened, morally embraced, and materially assisted. Autocrats who depended on aid and diplomatic support faced often irresistible pressure to open up, plan their exits, or step aside when they lost elections.

Krauthammer anticipated that the unipolar moment would extend for decades. It lasted for little more than one. The first body blow to the United States’ global democratic supremacy was the reckless overextension of U.S. power in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which tarnished the very idea of democracy promotion. The second was the 2008 financial crisis, generated by greed and mismanagement in the U.S. subprime-mortgage–lending industry and flawed regulatory policies. As the U.S. financial crisis became a global one, the reputation of the world’s most powerful democracy was further damaged. Preoccupied with the crisis and torn between his deep philosophical commitment to human rights and his instinctive pragmatism, the new U.S. president, Barack Obama, charted a middle course that brought only “partial revitalization” of the U.S. role in promoting democracy. Although it sustained democracy assistance, launched the Open Government Partnership against corruption, worked to discourage democratic backsliding, and occasionally pushed for democratic change, the United States was no longer spearheading an effort to make dictatorships democratize. The era of U.S. leadership to shape a more democratic world drew to a close. 32

Two structural factors constrained Obama’s—and the United States’—scope to promote democracy. One was the deepening polarization of U.S. politics, which further reduced the United States’ appeal as a model of democracy (and would do so even more dramatically in the years to come). And the second was the global resurgence of authoritarianism: the swelling power of China, the revival of aggressive and resentful Russian power, the cunning learning and adaptation of many autocracies, and their increasing collaboration in overlapping networks and norm-challenging initiatives. 33

No global development of the twenty-first century has been more damaging to the cause of freedom than the emergence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the world’s next superpower, with the world’s fastest-growing military, a worldwide propaganda apparatus, and a program of global infrastructure development—the Belt and Road Initiative—that has already invested more than US$200 billion in ports, railways, highways, energy pipelines, and the like in some sixty countries containing a majority of the world’s population. China has now surpassed the United States as the largest trading partner of Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. China leads four of the fifteen specialized UN agencies and, in cooperation with Russia and other authoritarian regimes, is working energetically to degrade human-rights norms and democratic civil society participation within existing global institutions, such as the UN and its Human Rights Council, while seeking to craft new global rules to make the world safe for autocracy, kleptocracy, and digital repression. Now China is developing the world’s first major central-bank digital currency in a bid to challenge the supremacy of the dollar and weaken the ability of the United States to impose financial sanctions on violators of international norms.

As its geopolitical weight and resources swell, China is deploying classic Communist Party “united front” tactics to penetrate and coopt the soft tissues of democracy—universities, think tanks, research centers, news media, the arts, corporations, community organizations, political parties, and local governments. The three principal goals of this vast apparatus are: 1) to steal and appropriate Western technology in a drive toward global economic and military dominance; 2) to control the narrative about China by censoring and intimidating criticism of its human-rights violations and external belligerence, while promoting a benign view of the regime; and 3) to mobilize exchange partners and united-front allies (witting or not) to embrace rather than resist China’s hegemonic pretensions, and to lobby their governments for policies that will expedite this seismic shift in global power.

Abandoning Deng Xiaoping’s historic dictum to “hide your strength and bide your time,” China under its dictatorial leader, Xi Jinping, has engaged in increasingly brash and bellicose conduct in its region and beyond. It has laid sovereign claim to virtually the entire resource-rich and strategically vital South China Sea, and it has enforced this claim by dredging and militarizing new islands, swarming disputed waters with its vessels, invading the fishing and other maritime rights of its neighbors, and launching increasingly frequent and threatening rhetoric and military probes against Taiwan. Such actions, and China’s sweeping projection of sharp power in the region and globally, have come at a price. The Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue among the United States, Australia, India, and Japan has begun to fashion a coordinated balancing response, and Japan and Australia especially are ramping up their defense posture and vigilance. Globally, public views of China have dimmed in reaction to its blandishments and bullying. But precisely because sharp power is covert and corrupting, many ruling elites around the world are only too happy to take up the bargain, and weak-state autocrats in particular welcome the support of an authoritarian superpower to neutralize and deter pressure from the Western democracies. Autocracy and kleptocracy have become inseparable companions in a global campaign to compromise sovereignty, plunder national wealth, eviscerate the rule of law, suppress opposition, and weaken the advanced democracies by laundering illicit wealth and whitewashing the reputations of the looters. Numerous Western corporations, consultancies, law firms, and private intelligence and surveillance contractors have become deeply implicated in this malign global trade, which has greatly extended the repressive capacity, retaliatory reach, and self-confidence of the world’s autocracies. 34

No country has witnessed the marriage of autocracy and kleptocracy on a more staggering scale than Russia, where an increasingly fearful and despotic ruler, now more than two decades in power, has amassed one of the world’s largest personal fortunes. The Kremlin’s mafia state seriously threatens the rule of law and the integrity of governance in Europe and the United States. But even greater is the damage that Russia’s deep digital, financial, and political projections of sharp power have repeatedly done to democracy in neighboring states such as Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, as well as to Western democracies through social-media manipulation and disinformation and financial support for far-right actors. These increasingly well-resourced and technically sophisticated efforts would be alarming enough, but Russia has also been reviving and modernizing its military as well. It has already used military force to shear off Crimea, a strategic portion of Ukraine, while waging a years-long war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region to destabilize the country’s democracy and warn it away from a closer alliance with the West.

Although they differ significantly in political system, economic capacity, and global power, the Chinese and Russian regimes share important features and interests. Each has become dramatically more repressive in the last decade, with China moving toward a neototalitarian surveillance state and Russia toward more vengeful and pervasive punishment of political opposition and dissent. Each system has become increasingly dominated by a single ruler who, feeling insecure in power, tightens repression and stokes nationalism to enhance domestic control. Each regime feels threatened by the example of a neighboring democracy—Taiwan in the case of China, Ukraine in the case of Russia—that substantially shares its language and culture and could inspire its citizens to want their own country’s political system to follow the neighboring model of freedom and pluralism. Each autocracy is therefore determined to subvert that neighboring democracy before being subverted by it. Each leader—and system—has broad contempt for the West and is determined to upend the liberal international order, which each detests. And each regime believes that the United States and, more broadly, the Western democracies are weak and irresolute, and therefore can be compromised, tested, and one day successfully confronted. Separately and together, China and Russia are nurturing networks of authoritarian collusion and endeavoring to remake the global balance of power.

We are approaching a very dangerous juncture. There is a real chance that China will use military force (if not an invasion, then a blockade, a massive cyberattack, or an escalating campaign of hybrid warfare) to attempt to compel Taiwan to “reunify with the motherland” and surrender its remarkable democracy. There is also a worrisome possibility that Russia will unleash more overt and massive military force to bring Ukraine to heel. Either of these events could happen not in some novelistic, next-generation scenario, but in the next few years, and the launching of one could, opportunistically, well invite the other. For this reason, Taiwan and Ukraine represent the front lines of the struggle to defend freedom in the world. The demise of either democracy through aggression by a more powerful neighbor would represent a hinge in history, much more akin to the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia than to the shadow contests of the Cold War. For several decades, we have become used to thinking of the struggle for freedom as purely political and civic. But unfortunately, as in the 1930s, the present danger has a significant element of military threat, for which neither the two battleground democracies nor the world’s most powerful liberal democracies are adequately prepared, psychologically, militarily, or in the security of their supply chains.

Power and Legitimacy

The most efficient solution to the gathering crisis of democracy globally would be the democratization of its two greatest adversaries, Russia and especially China. The failure of Russia’s nascent 1990s democracy was not predestined. As Michael McFaul recently explained in these pages, the choice of a successor to the ailing Boris Yeltsin was a close call. “A global financial meltdown felled Russia’s fragile economy in August 1998,” and along with it the liberalizing reformists led by first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov. Absent that development, Yeltsin’s deteriorating health, and a few other elements of chance, it is plausible to imagine a different scenario, in which Nemtsov might have succeeded Yeltsin and an imperfect but real democracy could have gradually taken hold. 35 Putin’s dictatorship may seem ruthless and unassailable now, but public confidence in his leadership is falling, and the regime’s self-confidence appears to be at a low ebb.

By contrast, China’s communist regime has seemed a juggernaut of economic success and efficient control since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. But the regime faces multiple dilemmas. Its economic-growth rate has slowed to probably 4 percent or less. The real-estate sector is disastrously overleveraged and in crisis. As Hal Brands and Michael Beckley have recently observed, “State zombie firms are being propped up while private firms are starved of capital.” To remain economically innovative and dynamic, the regime needs to incentivize private enterprise and investment, but it is cracking down on its biggest tech companies (as well as other entrepreneurs) because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is genetically unable to tolerate any rival to its power. Having “ravaged its own natural resources,” Brands and Beckley write, China is running out of water and “is importing more energy and food than any other nation.” Consequently, it is three times as costly for China to produce a unit of growth today as it was in the early 2000s. The price of labor and fiscal pressures are likely to soar with the rapid aging of the Chinese population, which will reduce the working-age population by 200 million over the next three decades while increasing the number of senior citizens by a similar amount. 36 These contradictions could turn China’s economic miracle into a prolonged period of Soviet-style stagnation. But before that would bring the collapse of communism and the possibility of democratic change, Brands and Beckley worry that it could generate strategic panic—a conclusion that time is not on the regime’s side, and that (like Germany before World War I and Japan before Pearl Harbor) the PRC must strike militarily soon, before its power wanes.

Two decades ago, it was possible to imagine that China’s rapid development would bring pressure for democratic change. In 2007, the economist Henry S. Rowen predicted that China’s swift economic modernization would make it a “partly free” state by 2015 and a “free” one by 2025. 37 The Asian Barometer was likewise finding tantalizing evidence that values were changing in China in a more liberal direction, particularly among the young. However, this faith in the power of modernization to liberalize China (which I also found seductive) has proven misplaced thus far. Prior to Rowen’s essay (and since), the Journal published many others predicting at least incremental progress toward a stronger civil society and a more technocratic, law-based state, or that corruption and unaccountable rule would produce a crisis that could open the way to democracy. 38 Instead, Andrew Nathan’s 2003 analysis of “authoritarian resilience” has held truer to the mark. But Nathan’s assessment presumed continued institutionalization of CCP rule through regular, norm-bound succession, increased meritocracy and bureaucratic specialization, and growing channels of mass participation and appeal. 39 Few anticipated the emergence in Xi Jinping of a neototalitarian ruler who would erase institutional constraints on his power, intensify state control of the masses, and extinguish any trace of political liberalization. Early on, Xiao Qiang, the founder of China Digital Times, revealed the ways in which Chinese netizens were evading and even ridiculing government authority. But digital censorship, manipulation, and control have rendered online civic pluralism largely an illusion. With the aid of an ever more omniscient and integrated system of digital surveillance and control, powered by rapid gains in artificial intelligence, the CCP under Xi has been defying the odds.

We have reentered a period of epochal confrontation between two divergent forms of rule—one based on power, the other on legitimacy. Regimes based on power have the comfort and aid of one another as well as their shared corrupt networks and technologies of control, but most face dwindling economic prospects. Surveillance and repression are expensive, and kleptocratic tyranny drains the economy and atrophies the state beyond its repressive core. As Venezuela and Zimbabwe discovered, this is a formula for state decay and ultimately failure, unless the ruling clique has natural resources to loot or (as in North Korea and Syria) can operate as a global organized-crime syndicate. Where autocrats such as Recep Tayyip Erdo ğ an in Turkey and Viktor Orbán in Hungary depend on elections to legitimize and renew their rule, the economic consequences of their bad governance will be their undoing. This is a dilemma that India’s populist prime minister, Narendra Modi, will confront if he continues down his current illiberal path.

But the dictatorships in Russia and China could destroy world peace before they destroy themselves. As they face the deep contradictions of their stultifying models, the authoritarian rulers of Russia and China will find their legitimacy waning. If they do not embrace political reform—a prospect that fills them with dread, given the fate of Gorbachev—they will have to rely increasingly on the exercise of raw power at home and abroad to preserve their rule. This is likely to propel them on a fascistic path, in which relentless repression of internal pluralism becomes inseparably bound up with ultranationalism, expansionism, and intense ideological hostility to all liberal and democratic values and rivals. In both Russia and China, the campaign of bigotry and harassment against the LGBT community and any deviance from traditional gender roles reflects the rising tide of chauvinistic rejection of “Western influence” and is the flip side of the growing threat that these regimes pose to regional and ultimately global peace and security.

This is the darkest moment for freedom in half a century. I have faith in democracy’s long-run prospects, because it is a morally superior system and because it has proven over time to be more effective at meeting human needs, growing economies, protecting the environment, respecting human rights, and controlling corruption. 40 In addition, it is human nature to seek personal autonomy, dignity, and self-determination, and with economic development those values have become ascendant. 41 But there is nothing inevitable about the triumph of democracy. In this new era, the strategies and choices of democratic states and leaders will have consequences that resonate for decades. Can the world’s democracies manage their divisions and rally their resolve to meet the challenge posed by resurgent authoritarianism? Antonio Gramsci urged: “Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” Only a clear-eyed recognition of the depth of the current peril can generate the necessary will.

I remain optimistic.

1. Samuel P. Huntington, “Democracy’s Third Wave,” Journal of Democracy 2 (Spring 1991): 12–34; and Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991).

2. Marc F. Plattner, “The Democratic Moment,” Journal of Democracy 2 (Fall 1991): 38.

3. Claude Ake, “Rethinking African Democracy,” Journal of Democracy (Winter 1991): 32–44; and Mario Vargas Llosa, “The Culture of Liberty,” Journal of Democracy 2 (Fall 1991): 25–33.

4. Amartya Sen, “Democracy as a Universal Value,” Journal of Democracy 10 (July 1999), quoted from pages 6 and 10.

5. Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, “Political Crafting of Democratic Consolidation or Destruction: European and South American Comparisons,” in Robert A. Pastor, ed., Democracy in the Americas: Stopping the Pendulum (New York: Holmes and Meier, 1989), 47

6. The Journal has published numerous articles from the Afrobarometer, Arab Barometer, Asian Barometer, Latinobarómetro, and others showing broader global support for democracy than cultural skeptics imagined. Many of these essays were collected in Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., How People View Democracy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008).

7. Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, “Toward Consolidated Democracies,” Journal of Democracy 7 (April 1996): 15, and Linz and Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 67–69.

8. These quotes are from Guillermo O’Donnell, “The Quality of Democracy: Why the Rule of Law Matters,” Journal of Democracy 15 (October 2004): 41, but the idea originates in his essay “On the State, Democratization and Some Conceptual Problems: A Latin American View with Glances at Some Postcommunist Countries,” World Development 21 (August 1993): 1355–69.

9. Larry Diamond, “Democracy in Latin America: Degrees, Illusions, and Directions for Consolidation,” in Tom Farer, ed., Beyond Sovereignty: Collectively Defending Democracy in the Americas (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1996), 73–74. See also Larry Diamond, Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 64–117, especially 74–75.

10. Francis Fukuyama, “Why is Democracy Performing So Poorly?” Journal of Democracy 26 (January 2015): 11–20.

11. Andreas Schedler, “Restraining the State: Conflicts and Agents of Accountability,” in Schedler, Larry Diamond, and Marc F. Plattner, eds., The Self–Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1999); and Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, “The Quest for Good Government: Learning from Virtuous Circles,” Journal of Democracy 27 (January 2016): 95–109.

12. Kathryn Stoner et al., “Transitional Successes and Failures: The Domestic-International Nexus,” in Kathryn Stoner and Michael McFaul, eds., Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).

13. Robert D. Putnam, “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Journal of Democracy 6 (January 1995): 65–78.

14. Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, “What Makes for Democracy?” in Diamond, Linz, and Lipset, eds., Politics in Developing Countries: Comparing Experiences with Democracy, 2nd ed. (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1995).

15. Larry Diamond, “Is the Third Wave Over?” Journal of Democracy 7 (July 1996): 20–37, quoted on 33 and 35.

16. Larry Diamond, “Is Pakistan the (Reverse) Wave of the Future?” Journal of Democracy 11 (July 2000): 91–106.

17. For two broader views, see Larry Diamond, Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russia Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency (New York: Penguin, 2019), and Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman, “The Anatomy of Democratic Backsliding,” Journal of Democracy 32 (October 2021): 26–41.

18. See the essays under the title, “Is Democracy in Decline?” in the Journal of Democracy 26 (January 2015), and compare especially Larry Diamond, “Facing Up to the Democratic Recession” (141–155) and Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, “The Myth of Democratic Recession” (45–58).

19. Larry Diamond, “Breaking Out of the Democratic Slump,” Journal of Democracy 31 (January 2020): 36–50, and Diamond, “Democratic Regression in Comparative Perspective: Scope, Methods, and Causes,” Democratization 28 (January 2021): 22–42.

20. Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021 ; and Sarah Repucci and Amy Slipowitz, “The Freedom House Survey for 2020: Democracy in a Year of Crisis,” Journal of Democracy 32 (April 2021): 45–60.

21. V-Dem Institute, Democracy Report 2021, www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/74/8c/748c68ad-f224-4cd7-87f9-8794add5c60f/dr_2021_updated.pdf .

22. Economist Intelligence Unit, “Democracy Index 2020: In Sickness and In Health?” www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020 .

23. Seymour Martin Lipset, Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics, expanded ed. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981), 77–78.

24. Jennifer McCoy and Murat Somer, “Mainstream Parties in Crisis: Overcoming Polarization,” Journal of Democracy 32 (January 2021): 9–11; and McCoy and Somer, “Toward a Theory of Pernicious Polarization and How It Harms Democracies,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 681 (January 2019): 234–71.

25. William A. Galston, “The Enduring Vulnerability of Liberal Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 31 (July 2020): 23.

26. Michael Dimock and Richard Wike, “America Is Exceptional in the Nature of Its Political Divide,” Pew Research Center, 13 November 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/13/america-is-exceptional-in-the-nature-of-its-political-divide .

27. Daniel A. Cox, “After the Ballots Are Counted: Conspiracies, Political Violence, and American Exceptionalism,” Survey Center on American Life, 11 February 2021, www.americansurveycenter.org/research/after-the-ballots-are-counted-conspiracies-political-violence-and-american-exceptionalism .

28. Robert A. Dahl, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971).

29. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die (New York: Crown, 2018), 97–117.

30. Marc F. Plattner, “Democracy Embattled,” Journal of Democracy 31 (January 2020): 8.

31. Charles Krauthammer, “The Unipolar Moment,” Foreign Affairs 70, no. 1 (1991): 23.

32. Thomas Carothers, Democracy Policy Under Obama: Revitalization or Retreat? (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2012).

33. William J. Dobson, The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy (New York: Doubleday, 2012); Alexander Cooley, “Authoritarianism Goes Global: Countering Democratic Norms,” Journal of Democracy 26 (July 2015): 49–63; and Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, and Christopher Walker, eds., Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016).

34. Ronald Deibert, Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2020); Deibert, “Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy,” Lipset Lecture, National Endowment for Democracy, 1 December 2021; and Anne Applebaum, “The Autocrats Are Winning,” Atlantic (December 2021): 44–54.

35. Michael McFaul, “Russia’s Road to Autocracy,” Journal of Democracy 32 (October 2021): 17 (and see the full discussion of democratic failure, 15–19).

36. Hal Brands and Michael Beckley, “China Is a Declining Power—and That’s the Problem,” Foreign Policy , 24 September 2021.

37. Henry S. Rowen, “When Will the Chinese People Be Free?” Journal of Democracy 18 (July 2007): 38–52.

38. These numerous Journal of Democracy essays, including the ones cited in this paragraph, were gathered together in Andrew J. Nathan, Larry Diamond, and Marc F. Plattner, eds., Will China Democratize? (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).

39. Andrew J. Nathan, “China’s Changing of the Guard: Authoritarian Resilience,” Journal of Democracy 14 (January 2003): 6–17.

40. See the V-Dem project on “The Case for Democracy,” www.v-dem.net/en/our-work/research-projects/case-democracy .

41. Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart, “The Role of Ordinary People in Democratization,” Journal of Democracy 19 (January 2008): 126–40; Welzel, “Why the Future Is Democratic,” Journal of Democracy 32 (April 2021): 132–44.

Image Credit: Laurel Chor/AFP via Getty Images

Kenya: Lessons From a Flawed Election

Joel D. Barkan

Read the full essay here .

Volume 31, Issue 4

Covid vs. Democracy: India’s Illiberal Remedy

Rahul Mukherji

India’s covid-19 response has accelerated the country’s slide toward competitive authoritarian rule by centralizing decision making, undermining federalism, and providing new pretexts for stifling dissent.

Volume 32, Issue 2

Uganda’s Fraudulent Election

Rita Abrahamsen
Gerald Bareebe

Longtime president Yoweri Museveni, his ruling party, and his increasingly militarized regime opened 2021 with a grossly unfair election. But time may be on the side of Uganda’s young voters…

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

Why Is Democracy Worth Defending?

More and more Americans are turning against democracy. According to a 2023 survey from the University of Virginia Center for Politics, 24% of Democrats and 31% of Republicans agree with the statement, “Democracy is no longer a viable system, and America should explore alternative forms of government.” A series of 2024 Pew Research Center surveys says roughly two-thirds of Americans don’t think our democracy is working very well—and satisfaction with democracy itself has fallen by 10 points since 2021.

That trend is global. The Pew Research Center has found support for democracy as an ideal slipping around the world over the past seven years. Those opinions reflect a real-world trend: A new report from the V-Dem Project —which convenes over 4,000 researchers around the world to aggregate their data—finds that authoritarian governments are gaining ground. Almost two-thirds of the world’s population (5.7 billion people) now live under authoritarian leaders, a 48% increase from 10 years ago. Around the world, according to this team of political scientists, core democratic mechanisms like fair elections and a free press are troubled or declining.

Why? That’s a question hotly disputed among scholars and citizens alike. But, according to Henry E. Brady, dean of the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, the problem boils down to rapid technological change and rising economic inequality overwhelming governments. Those forces have combined with climate change to trigger mass migrations, which strains infrastructure and social cohesion. When governments don’t seem able to effectively address these kinds of problems, he says, they lose legitimacy—and that creates an opportunity for would-be dictators.

In the face of these challenges, now is a good time to ask ourselves: What’s good about democracy? Why is it worth defending?

Democracy vs. authoritarianism

The trouble, of course, is that more authoritarian governments face the same problems—but they don’t have the same level of transparency, and so their failures are not as apparent.

What is democracy?

While there are different kinds of democracy—a word that means “rule by the people”—democratic political systems tend to have these characteristics in common:

The potential for all citizens to participate in decision making, through mechanisms like elections or referenda.

The idea that all people, including the rich and powerful, are accountable before the law.

Well-defined fundamental rights, including for free speech and assembly.

Brady cites the Nobel Prize–winning economist Amartya Sen, who famously argued that there are no famines in functioning democracies because “you can’t get away with having one.” Through channels like independent peer-reviewed research, investigative journalism, or the debates that unfold in election campaigns, “democracies do better ultimately because people are better able to recognize problems,” says Brady.

It’s important to note, however, that studying competing political systems involves a tremendous amount of uncertainty and disagreement. John Gerring is a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, who has published a number of large-scale studies comparing outcomes in democratic and authoritarian systems. He cautions that this is extremely hard to do, because of the chaos and complexity involved. Moreover, “democracy is not randomly assigned,” he says. “So all the things that cause a country to become democratic or authoritarian could also affect the outcomes that we want to explain.” In other words, for example: Are more prosperous and peaceful countries more likely to become democratic—or does democracy drive peace and prosperity?

However, even acknowledging those limitations, says Gerring, the consensus among researchers is that the citizens of democracies do tend to be happier and healthier than those in more authoritarian countries.

In a 2022 paper , Gerring and his colleagues looked at results from 1,100 cross-country analyses published after the year 2000, covering 30 outcomes like human rights, military and criminal justice, and overall governance—and they found that democracies perform as well or better in almost every domain.

Of course, nothing is ever simple: “For inequality, inflation, and public spending, there is no case for democracy producing desirable outcomes,” write the authors, suggesting that democracies don’t always do a good job of managing their money.

Seven benefits of democracy

Democracy can’t protect us from every bad thing—but the research to date says that it has done a much better job so far than alternatives like dictatorships, military juntas, monarchies, or one-party systems. So, how is democracy good for you? Read on.

Greater well-being

There is a robust connection between democratic decision making and self-reported happiness—or what researchers call “subjective well-being.” One 2017 study looked at a diverse group of countries (including, for example, Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Rwanda, in addition to the usual Western suspects) and found that people living in stable democracies were much more satisfied with life than those in less democratic countries. (Of course, there are many factors interacting to shape happiness in a given country—especially economic ones—and researchers have discovered that, in fact, inequalities create happiness gaps within countries, which drags down their collective average.)

The quality of democratic institutions and the type of democracy matter, too, when it comes to happiness. Another 2017 paper used data for the nations of the European Union, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, and the United States to discover that the happiest people lived in countries with parliamentary and proportional representation electoral systems, perhaps because those best represent a range of interests and viewpoints. However, across multiple studies, the overall picture is pretty clear: On average, the more democratic a country is, the happier its people tend to be.

Better health

In a 2012 study , Gerring and his colleagues found that long-standing, stable democracies had much lower infant mortality rates than their unstable or undemocratic counterparts. Another 2018 study by Yi-ting Wang and her colleagues studied a data set that tracked 171 countries for over a century. They found that “democratic elections have consistent effects on health outcomes even when other important factors, including good governance, are taken into account.”

“Democracies do better ultimately because people are better able to recognize problems”

Both those studies found that the age of a democracy was a big influence on health. Why? Authoritarian governments aren’t as good at health care for the majority partially because powerful minorities tend to hoard medical resources and ignore the needs of the many—but transitioning to democracy does not instantaneously make people healthier. “You need time to build up a bureaucracy and distribute health care and ideally do things that extend life, like vaccinate kids,” says Gerring. “Those things don’t materialize in a jiffy.”

More human and civil rights

Democracy is majority rule—but it’s also comparatively good at protecting minorities. That may seem like a paradox, but consider the role of the rule of law and and constitutionally protected civil liberties, which are designed to restrain the power of majorities and powerful elites.

Indeed, according to the V-Dem Democracy Report 2024 , the world’s democracies are substantially better at protecting religious, racial, political, and sexual minorities from bias and persecution than are autocracies, in part because those minorities can band together for self-protection. As Anthony J. McGann argues in a 2004 paper , “Majority rule offers most protection to minorities because it makes it easiest for a minority to form a coalition that can overturn an unacceptable outcome.”

Relatedly, a 2020 study by Larry M. Bartels found that people who are more hostile toward ethnic minorities tend to have more anti-democratic attitudes. As that and other studies suggest, bigotry and democracy are simply not compatible, with one undermining the other .

Stronger relationships

“Social capital” refers to the strength and diversity of our contacts with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and more. The research to date suggests that democracy and social capital have what sociologist Pamela Paxton calls an “interdependent relationship,” with the health of one tied up in the health of the other.

In a 2002 paper that used data from the World Values Survey and the Union of International Associations, she finds that the two bolstered each other—so long as civic organizations were in some way connected to a larger community. In other words, organizations that channel people into, for example, community sports leagues or farmers markets strengthen social capital, while those that are more insular (like not-in-my-backyard activist groups) don’t .

In a more recent paper for the Review of Political Economy , two Greek researchers find strong evidence for the same kind of relationship, with democracy boosting people’s social capital and their social capital fueling their satisfaction with democracy. That’s a finding supported by many other studies that find, for example, that rural social capital leads people to give more input to government decisions through forums like debates and town meetings, which translates into more trust between the people and government.

Less war, more peace

One of the strongest conclusions from the research to date is that democracies tend to be much more peaceful than their authoritarian counterparts. “There just aren’t very many examples of two democracies fighting wars with each other,” says Gerring. There are some interesting nuances to this discussion, like the fact that when democracies do go to war, it’s almost always with autocracies, and the democracies are much more likely to win those wars.

In a 2014 paper , for example, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and his colleagues argue that “because defeat is more likely to lead to domestic replacement for democrats than for autocrats, democrats only initiate wars they expect to win”—and that same public pressure drives more resources toward the military than dictators are usually able to muster. At the same time, healthy democracies are much less likely to experience civil war, domestic terrorism, and military coups. In fact, the rise of civil wars in recent years might be linked to the decline of democracy around the world.

Stronger, more egalitarian economies

Democracies enjoy more stable and sustainable economic growth , and they’re overall more redistributive, believe it or not, meaning that functions like education and health care tend to be more public and universal than they are in authoritarian counterpart countries.

While some people might believe that cut-throat capitalism and colonialism are responsible for democratic prosperity, the global picture is much more complicated. As Brady points out, there is such a thing as what he calls well-being or egalitarian democracy, where “not only do you have autonomy as a person and people have to respect your rights, but also you have the right to pursue happiness—and that means there should be programs like food stamps, unemployment insurance, social security, and so forth, so that throughout your life, no matter what befalls you, you have a safety net.”

Indeed, the world’s social democracies —of the kind found throughout Europe, with manifestations in places like Canada, Bolivia, and New Zealand—have become the world’s happiest nations by embracing a social safety net for everyone.

Better governance

If your employer steals part of your wages or forces you to work overtime, will the Labor Commission act? Are your investments protected by the courts? Do you need to bribe someone at City Hall to get a building permit? Issues like these hint at the quality of governance—an umbrella term for functioning, responsive, honest government.

In the 2022 meta-analysis mentioned above, Gerring and his colleagues found this is an area where democracies tend to excel, relatively speaking. Though countries transitioning to democracy are more vulnerable to bribery and nepotism, says Gerring, “over the longer term, the countries with the longest democratic histories have the lowest levels of corruption.” That’s a conclusion shared by many other studies —some of which suggest that maintaining solid administration is also key to sustaining support for democracy, especially when it comes to crime and law enforcement.

“Democracy is more fragile than most of us like to think. Not fragile like glass. Fragile like a bomb.”

As we approach the 2024 election, it might be easy to feel complacent and imagine that because American democracy has endured for centuries, it will continue to do so—or we might feel that embracing a more authoritarian leader will “make America great again.”

But “democracy is more fragile than most of us like to think,” says Ray Block , senior analyst for the African American Research Collaborative and the Michael D. Rich Distinguished Chair for Countering Truth Decay at the RAND Corporation. “Not fragile like glass. Fragile like a bomb. Not caring for it means that we perish.”

About the Author

Jeremy Adam Smith

Uc berkeley.

Jeremy Adam Smith edits the GGSC's online magazine, Greater Good . He is also the author or coeditor of five books, including The Daddy Shift , Are We Born Racist? , and (most recently) The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good . Before joining the GGSC, Jeremy was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

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As a template for you assignment

Introduction

The Electoral College is a group of selected voters who have the power to elect a candidate into a specific office. In the United States, the Electoral College is responsible for electing the president and vice president into the office (Sabato, 207). The constitution of the United States specifies the number of electors each state should have. Each of the state’s legislatures decides the manner of choosing its electors.

The electors have the task of casting votes for both the presidential candidate and the vice president. In the long run, the presidential candidate is usually not chosen by the majority vote but by the electors. The idea of Electoral College has elicited mixed feelings among political scientists, scholars and critiques. This paper discusses cases for and against the Electoral College in the United States.

Political analysts believe that the existence of the Electoral College has led to the development of the United States as a nation. This is because the Electoral College has led leaders to consider the less populous states in their campaigns and policymaking. Taking a case scenario where leaders were elected by popular votes, most of them would have assumed the less populous states and consider the urban states.

This means that the Electoral College prevents victory that is solely dependent on urban areas. Candidates are encouraged to take a much wider approach in their campaigns in order to win the elections. Therefore, due to the existence of the Electoral College, states that are less populous are being considered in policy making thus encouraging development throughout the United States.

Proponents believe that the Electoral College has enhanced the process of power separation in the government. The constitution was enacted to ensure that no single individual commanded a lot of power in the country. Therefore, the power of the government was separated into three branches: the judiciary, legislature, and the executive (Chang, 2007).

These branches provided a check to the idea of totalitarianism. According to the proponents, a president elected by popular vote asserts a popular support from the nation. This may lead to the president undermining the other branches of government such as the judiciary and the legislature.

However, the idea of an Electoral College is not without criticism. Critiques believe that the Electoral College bestows a lot of power to some states. Habitually, the candidate with the highest number of votes in a state receives the state’s entire electoral vote.

Critiques argue that this is wrong because some states have a history of consistently voting uniformly for either the Democrat party or the Republican Party. In cases where the state votes in a ‘blanket’ manner, candidates withdraw their attention from these states pay attention to the more populous states without a clear favorite.

Critiques have also argued that the idea of an electoral college discourages the voter turnout. This is because candidates with the highest proportion of votes in each state receive all the electoral votes especially in states where there is a clear favorite. In such cases, other voters usually feel that their votes will not have much impact. In most cases, candidates in states with a clear favorite do not campaign for voter turnout. The exception of this case can only be detected in the states with a large ‘swing’.

Different people have different opinions in cases concerning the Electoral College. Supporters believe that the Electoral College enhances the process of power separation. On the other hand, critiques believe that the process discourage voter turnout. The question of an electoral college has become a question of personal opinion and each person is entitled to his or her opinion on the matter.

Chang, S. (2007). Updating the Electoral College: The National Popular Vote Legislation. Harvard Journal on Legislation , 44(1), 205- 208.

Sabato, L. (2007). A More Perfect Constitution. New York: Walker Publishing Company.

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Chicago (A-D)
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Sample Essay On Democracy, with Outline

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Democracy Essay Sample Outline

Introduction.

Thesis: Democracy is a system of government where the will of the people is the ultimate power. Though it has a decisive influence in most countries where it is practiced, several drawbacks amount from the practice.

Paragraph 1:

Democracy is, ‘the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’

Free and fair elections characterize it.
A country that thrives in a democracy should prioritize the protection of human freedoms and rights.

Paragraph 2:

Democracy discards privileges of a class or group of men.

Ordinary people have the right to choose their leaders.
All voters are eligible for leadership positions.

Paragraph 3:

Democracy ensures that all people are treated as equals before the law.

Citizens make laws in a democratic country through their representatives.
All people regardless of their influence in the society are treated equally under the law.

Paragraph 4:

Democracy instills a sense of responsibility in all citizens within a country.

People take part in governing their country.
People rise against oppression and air their views on governance.

Paragraph 5:

Democracy greatly reduces the likelihood of political dissent.

A democratically elected government receives its mandate from a majority of the citizenry.
A majority should be content with it.

Paragraph 6:

Democracy operates by an exceptional majority.

Illiterate persons and the ignorant, who make up the majority are given the power to choose leaders instead of the elites.
Leadership positions are given to irresponsible people.

Paragraph 7:

Democracy proliferates inefficiency in governance.

Most leaders in democratic countries focus more on creating political alliances rather than on development and administration. Administration in many democratic countries is run by bureaucrats, who have no obligation to the people.
Elected leaders do not foster development in their countries.

Paragraph 8:

Democracy encourages corruption.

Most leaders use their political influence to benefit those close to them.
Only supporters of a political regime benefit from an elected government.

Democracy gives people the power to govern themselves. It allows them to make laws, which promote equality and fair treatment for all. However, it also encourages corruption and promotes inefficiency in governance. Appropriate use of democracy benefits both a country and its people.

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Free Essay On Democracy for Students

Democracy is a system of government where the will of the people is the ultimate power. It was introduced to give ordinary people the ability to take part in determining who governs them. Over the years more and more countries have followed the democratization path in an effort to improve their links with other democratic countries. It is a practice that is highly recommended by most international organizations. Even though this form of governance has real influence in most countries where it is practiced, it also has its downside. Below is a discussion regarding what democracy entails, and its positive and negative impacts in countries where it is practiced.

Many sources define democracy as, ‘the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ Freedom in a country is realized through the use of an open mechanism of selecting leaders. In this light, a democratic nation should be characterized by free and fair elections. Ordinary people hold the ultimate power in a democratic country, and therefore should be allowed to actively participate in civic life and politics. A state that thrives on democracy should prioritize the protection of human freedoms and rights. The rule of law is one of the crucial components of justice. In a democratic country, all individuals are treated equally under the law.

Merits of Democracy

Democracy discards privileges of a class or group of people. In a democratic environment, only people with the right to vote are given the responsibility of leadership. Every voter in a country has the potential to lead others. In a democratic state, the administration is not limited to few groups or individuals. It gives ordinary people the freedom to choose their leaders and to serve as leaders. Democracy ensures that no individual is above others as is often evident in other forms of government such as monarchies and anarchies. It upholds the values of equality and liberty in a country.

Democracy also ensures that all people are treated equally before the law. In a democratic country, rules are made by ordinary people through their representatives in the legislature. Laws made take into consideration the welfare of all people and not for those who belong to a particular class. The freedoms, interests, and rights of every citizen are highly and equally safeguarded. Resources in such a nation are similarly distributed because democracy stresses on equality of all persons. People in the three social classes are governed by the same set of rules and regulations. The law applies to all individuals irrespective of their influence in society. Perhaps you maybe interested in what it means to be American sample esays .

This method of governance further instills a sense of responsibility in all citizens within a country. It gives the common man the right of belonging to a particular nation. It also gives them a chance to participate in the nation’s governance. The people are therefore compelled to take matters of governance upon themselves so that if anything goes wrong, they will stand and question those they put in positions of leadership. They feel entitled to oppose any form of oppression that may arise in their country. They are given the right to speak up their minds and express their views about the governance or leadership without fear of being victimized.

Further, democracy has a significant strength in its ability to greatly reduce the likelihood of political dissent. Collier (2012) explains that since a democratically elected government receives its mandate from a majority of the citizenry, it implies that a majority should be content with it. This is not possible in other forms of government. It is only by constituting and running a government as informed by the needs of those who elect it that a system of governance can be said to be based on approval by the majority. Not even when a dictatorship works in the interest of all citizens can it be considered to enjoy majority approval. This is because the only sure way of determining what the public needs and/or wants is through elections. On the other hand however, the minority needs may not be fully met by a democratic government. Those who voted against such a government would feel left out and would thus develop a feeling of dissatisfaction (Collier, 2012). This notwithstanding, no system of politics or governance can see everybody get satisfied and it is only through democracy that a majority can be satisfied.

Demerits of Democracy

Democracy operates on majority rule. As earlier mentioned, democracy gives ordinary people the power to choose their leaders. Those who are preferred by the majority are regarded to be the elected leaders. However, in most countries, a high proportion of the population consists of illiterate or ignorant individuals who do not care about how the government is run. These people vote blindly and end up giving leadership positions to unqualified and undeserving persons. The elite makes up the minority in many countries, and their few numbers restrict them from determining those that assume positions of power.

Democracy also proliferates inefficiency in governance. Most leaders in democratic countries focus more on creating political alliances rather than on development and administration. Administration in many democratic countries is run by bureaucrats, who have no obligation to the people. Since most of those that elect such leaders are ignorant individuals, they are sucked into the debates of political alliances thus paying less attention to the delivery of services by such leaders. It therefore becomes difficult to foster infrastructural, social, and economic development in many democratic countries. People neglect their responsibilities of keeping the government in check, making it hard for leaders to make any meaningful developments. Democracy therefore negatively influences the ability of a country to experience significant economic growth.

Further, democracy encourages corruption. After elected leaders assume office, they embark on activities of forming new political parties and alliances. Leadership values and promises made to the people are forgotten. Developments are only initiated in regions that support ruling regimes, while other regions are neglected. The value of equality, which democracy purports to uphold, is often overlooked. Most state jobs are given based on favoritism. People in leadership positions use their influence to benefit those close to them and those who belong to their communities or support their political movements.

Democracy gives people the power to govern themselves. Through it, equality is upheld, and the rule of law takes its course. However, it also gives illiterate and ignorant individuals the power to lead others, and this contributes to inefficiency in governance and promotes corruption. Thus, democracy may only be of benefit to a country if used appropriately and in line with the true meaning of the word. Scheme through some quality criminal justice research paper topics you can choose for your assignment.

Ankita, T. (2016). “13 valid demerits of democracy form of government”. Preserve Articles . Retrieved June 19, 2020 from http://www.preservearticles.com/201106248563/13-valid-demerits-of-democracy-form-of-government.html

Ankita, T. (2017). “13 most essential merits of democracy form of government”. Preserve Articles . Retrieved June 19, 2020 from http://www.preservearticles.com/201106248562/13-most-essential-merits-of-democracy-form-of-government.html

Campbell, D. F. (2008). The basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of democracy .

Collier, R. (2012). Fundamental principles of democracy . Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Ghiorgis, A. (2012). “Principles of democracy”. Asmarino . Retrieved June 19, 2020 from http://asmarino.com/articles/1442-principles-of-democracy

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Olympics 2024

Hong Kong Fencer Retires After Winning Gold Amid Uproar Over Pro-China College Thesis

Gold medalist Vivian Kong Man Wai of China's Hong Kong poses for photos during the awarding ceremony for Women's Epee Individual at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on July 27, 2024.

H ong Kong Olympic gold medalist Vivian Kong said she would quit her fencing career days after controversy erupted over her apparent support for Beijing’s crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement , underscoring political tensions in the Asian finance hub.

An academic paper purported to be her master’s thesis showed that Kong, one of two athletes from the city to pick up a gold medal from the Paris Games, condemned 2014 protests calling for freer elections. The document began circulating last week and prompted some fans to turn their back on the athlete after initially celebrating her victory in women’s épée last month.

Nathan Law , a self-exiled former lawmaker and a student leader of the demonstrations, said Friday he made a mistake in congratulating Kong on her triumph, describing her political stance as “extremely problematic.” Many users on LIHKG, a forum popular with supporters of the 2014 movement, satirized Kong after embracing her as a pride of the former British colony.

Kong hasn’t publicly commented on the episode and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The 30-year-old Stanford graduate said in an Instagram post she would start a charity to promote sports to children.

The paper, submitted to Renmin University in Beijing in 2021, argued that protesters’ “chaos and illegal acts” threatened national security. It hailed a new national security law for eliminating “anti-China and anti-Hong Kong powers” linked to the 2014 movement, where demonstrators blocked key thoroughfares to wrest political concessions from authorities.

The clampdown led to the jailing of dozens of democracy advocates, and a subsequent rewriting of election rules all but ensured only pro-Beijing candidates could run for office. Law left the city for London, where he was granted political asylum.

Read More: What to Know About Hong Kong’s Controversial New National Security Law

The debate over Kong has divided the city, with those lamenting a loss of political freedoms disavowing her and those supporting Beijing’s action backing the fencer.

“The rabid attacks on Vivian’s political beliefs are an ugly reflection of the perversity and deformity of these fawning puppets of external powers,” said Regina Ip, an official adviser.

Hong Kong has had its best Olympics in history, with two golds and two bronzes so far . Kong and fellow fencer Edgar Cheung are each set to receive a HK$6 million ($771,000) reward for winning a gold medal from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

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IMAGES

Argument for Democracy
36 Examples of Strong Thesis Statement
How to Write a Thesis about Democracy
The Pros and Cons of Direct Democracy
(DOC) Analysis Comparison: Direct and Indirect Democracy
How to Write a Thesis about Democracy

COMMENTS

How to Write a Thesis about Democracy
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Democracy Essay Examples
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423 Democracy Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
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