Markets and Democracy in the 21st Century is a major research area of CFR's Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy initiative. Many viewed the end of the Cold War as the triumph of the Western model of liberal capitalist democracy. Today, however, that is no longer clear. China’s rise has produced an alternative system of "authoritarian capitalism;" attempts to build enduring democratic institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced deep challenges; and the economic crisis of recent years has rattled faith in open markets. The Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy initiative is examining issues surrounding economic and political openness and reform—and the United States’ efforts to promote these goals—in the context of current debates.
Please see below for relevant publications.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Russia's presidential election on March 5, 2012 with almost 64 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. Charging violations at the polls, protestors rallied in downtown Moscow. Listen to CFR senior fellows Charles Kupchan and Stephen Sestanovich discuss the outcome of the elections, Russia's future, and U.S.-Russia relations.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Russia's presidential election on March 5, 2012 with almost 64 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. Charging violations at the polls, protestors rallied in downtown Moscow. Listen to CFR senior fellows Charles Kupchan and Stephen Sestanovich discuss the outcome of the elections, Russia's future, and U.S.-Russia relations.
See more in Europe/Russia, Elections
Vladimir Putin is expected to regain Russia's presidency despite a surge in public disapproval. Unknown is whether the vote will trigger widespread domestic protest or spur a downturn in Russia's relations with Washington.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
Ahead of the Russian presidential elections on March 4, Leon Aron, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., and Stephen Sestanovich assess recent demonstrations of public discontent in the Russian streets and discuss the future of the country, its leaders, and U.S.-Russia relations.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
Leon Aron, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., and Stephen Sestanovich assess recent demonstrations of public discontent in the Russian streets and discuss the future of the country, its leaders, and U.S.-Russia relations.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
Leon Aron, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., and Stephen Sestanovich assess recent demonstrations of public discontent in the Russian streets and discuss the future of the country, its leaders, and U.S.-Russia relations.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
Francis Fukuyama shot to fame with a 1989 essay called "The End of History?" which he expanded into a 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man. His thesis was a reworking of the "end of ideology" argument propounded in the 1950s by Daniel Bell and others, with an even more emphatic twist.
See more in Wars and Warfare, Democracy and Human Rights
Stephen Sestanovich, CFR's George F. Kennan senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies, discusses Russia's upcoming election and its outcomes.
See more in Russian Fed., Elections
To achieve sustainable economic growth, Michael Spence says education and values must promote greater awareness of the consequences of individual and collective choices.
See more in Economic Development, Financial Crises, Geoeconomics
Joshua Kurlantzick explores the challenges of Myanmar's business environment.
See more in Burma/Myanmar, Democracy and Human Rights, Emerging Markets
Steven A. Cook says that to avoid the traps of their history, Egyptians must be committed to a new constitution and an independent parliament.
See more in Egypt, Democratization, Political Movements
Mark P. Lagon and William F. Schulz take a closer look at how liberals and conservatives understand and advance human rights and lay out options for creating a more unified human rights movement focused on resilience and creative policies rather than dogmatism.
See more in Human Rights, U.S. Strategy and Politics
Myanmar's sudden transition from repressive pariah to potential democracy should be viewed through the lens of a military alarmed by people power revolts and by the country's increasingly shaky economic condition, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.
See more in Burma/Myanmar, Democratization
Ed Husain argues that Western military involvement in Syria would worsen violence, not end it, and could spread the conflict beyond Syria's borders.
See more in United States, Syria, Democracy and Human Rights, Humanitarian Intervention
Julia E. Sweig analyzes the significance of the first-ever Communist Party Conference in Cuba.
See more in Cuba, Brazil, Democratization
Isobel Coleman discusses the role of women in the Arab Spring.
See more in Middle East, Democratization, Political Movements, Women
Jerome A. Cohen and Jared Genser argue that the case of detained Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng demonstrates how far the Chinese government will go to suppress legitimate criticism by its citizens.
See more in China, Human Rights, Rule of Law
Ed Husain argues that the current trajectory of the United States in the Middle East—of dancing around developments, leading from behind and expressing defeatist thinking—needs to stop.
See more in United States, Egypt, Democratization, Political Movements
John Campbell argues, "Only genuine reform of Nigeria's political economy can pull it back from the brink."
See more in Nigeria, Economic Development, Political Movements
Elliott Abrams strikes back at critics who condemn both the Arab Spring and its supporters.
See more in Middle East, Democracy and Human Rights, Political Movements
For more on what the United States and others can do to foster open, prosperous, and stable societies, visit CSM&D.
