Shows
Democracy ParadoxAmel Ahmed Says the Regime Question Has ReturnedThe regime question at its core is about how we should govern ourselves... This is an enduring question that is essential to democratic politics.Amel AhmedThis episode begins with host Justin Kempf and Javier Pérez Sandoval setting the stage for a deep dive into the “regime question,” highlighting its significance in democratic theory and contemporary politics. Their introductory discussion explores foundational divides in political systems and frames the questions that will be pursued, particularly the tensions between institutional arrangements and party cleavages. The heart of the episode follows as Kempf...
2025-10-2949 minDemocracy ParadoxTom Carothers Says We Misunderstand Democratic BackslidingAfter an introductory conversation with Kellogg Faculty Fellow Marc Jacob, Democracy Paradox host Justin Kempf explores the dynamics of global democracy with renowned expert Thomas Carothers. Carothers, the director of the Carnegie Endowment's Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, shares his deep knowledge and firsthand experiences in democracy promotion, focusing on the importance of coalition-building, inclusive leadership, and long-term commitment in sustaining democratic movements. Drawing from case studies in Latin America, particularly Chile and Brazil, he provides thoughtful reflections on the challenges and successes of political activism. This conversation offers insights for scholars, policymakers...
2025-10-1552 minDemocracy ParadoxSusan Stokes on Democratic BackslidersIn this episode, Justin interviews Susan Stokes, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy. They discuss her new book The Backsliders, which explains how economic inequality and political polarization create conditions that allow leaders to undermine democratic institutions. She explores the roles of populism, voter behavior, and institutional erosion in democratic backsliding worldwide.Read the transcript here.The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of...
2025-09-1740 minDemocracy ParadoxWhen We Misread Dictators... Steve Coll on Saddam Hussein and the American Invasion of IraqAs a writer I had the space to try to humanize him without sanitizing him. That was my mission: to try to see the world from behind his eyes in order to explain his otherwise inexplicable behavior.Steve CollAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduRead Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution Will Be Podcasted."A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com....
2024-02-2757 minDemocracy ParadoxWhy is the Immigration System Broken? Jonathan Blitzer on How American Foreign Policy in Central America Created a CrisisWritten into the DNA of American immigration policy, which we tend to regard as a kind of domestic policy - and which in many ways it is - has to do with US foreign policy.Jonathan BlitzerThis episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy.Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Read Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution...
2024-02-2054 minDemocracy ParadoxThe Surveillance State in China Began With Mao Says Minxin PeiI think a powerful surveillance apparatus will continue to be a major obstacle to the development of democratic forces, but it will not be the decisive factor.Minxin PeiProudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Read Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution Will Be Podcasted."A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Minxin Pei is the Tom and Margot Pritzker ’72 Professor of Go...
2024-02-1343 minDemocracy ParadoxAfter a Coup, Can the Constitutional Order Be Repaired? Adem Abebe on Rebuilding Constitutions in West AfricaAs democracy promoters, we also need to pay a lot of attention to the material needs of people... When these material needs are not satisfied, people will be more willing to give nondemocratic forms a chance.Adem AbebeThis episode was made in partnership with the Constitution Building Programme at International IDEAAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduRead Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution Will...
2024-02-0654 minDemocracy ParadoxCan Poland Repair its Constitutional Democracy? Tomás Daly Believes it CanPoland will be showing us the endless ingenuity of constitutional thinkers who are genuinely committed to democracy in its many forms.Tomás DalyThis episode was made in partnership with the Constitution Building Programme at International IDEAAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduRead Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution Will Be Podcasted."A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
2024-01-3051 minDemocracy ParadoxSimon Shuster on Zelensky in War and PeaceI think his heart is in the right place. I've talked to him about these things. He's very sensitive to the judgment of history. He knows that. Ukraine has been fighting since long before he became president to be an independent sovereign democracy with freedom of speech.Simon ShusterProudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
2024-01-2349 minDemocracy ParadoxDan Banik is In Pursuit of DevelopmentThis bonus episode is part of a series of interviews available for monthly supporters of Democracy Paradox at Patreon. Other interviews feature guests like Julia Azari, Mila Atmos, and Bob Shrum. But more importantly you'll help the podcast cover important expenses and continue to grow. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter by clicking on the link here.If you want to help the podcast in other ways, please email the host, Justin Kempf, at jkempf@democracyparadox.com. Dan Banik is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo and Director of the Oslo...
2022-05-1335 minDemocracy ParadoxLisa Disch on Representation, Constituencies, and Political LeadershipThe tension in what we want from democratic representation is that we want control over our representatives and we want creativity from them. If we control them, they are delegates. They're not representatives. They do what we want. They act in our place instead of us. They act as we would in our place. If they give us creativity, they will bring things out of us and do things for us that we may not have imagined.Lisa DischA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Making Constituencies...
2022-02-0849 minDemocracy ParadoxJoseph Fishkin on the Constitution, American History, and Economic InequalityFor many Americans, for the first many generations really up through the mid 20th century, the constitutional order seemed to rest on and depend on an economic order in which people had enough economic clout to be independent citizens and voters. Not serfs dependent on some kind of master.Joseph FishkinA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of American Democracy here.Joseph Fishkin is a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He is the coauthor (along w...
2022-02-0148 minDemocracy ParadoxBilal Baloch on Indira Gandhi, India's Emergency, and the Importance of Ideas in PoliticsWe have core ideas that form a part of our worldview, but those core ideas are not fixed in the way in which we talk about rationality and interest in that they can evolve. And we have to, when we think about human behavior, political behavior, we have to give serious attention to those ideas and go beyond just fixed material interests.Bilal BalochA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of When Ideas Matter: Democracy and Corruption in India here.Bilal Baloch is the Co-Founder and CO...
2022-01-2545 minDemocracy ParadoxSara Wallace Goodman on Citizen Responses to Democratic ThreatsIf I could say one thing to every citizen, it's to put country before party. Which is, you know, at this time it almost feels like a hollowed phrase, because we we've kind of heard it so often. But it's like actually true.Sara Wallace GoodmanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat here.Sara Wallace Goodman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and the author of Citizenship i...
2022-01-1842 minDemocracy ParadoxJoseph Wright and Abel Escribà-Folch on Migration's Potential to Topple DictatorshipsThis is money that flows between individuals and families and largely circumvents governments and that's a hugely important point, because the real take home of the book is that when these financial flows are controlled by citizens, it tips the balance of power in favor of citizens. When the international financial flow goes to governments, it tips the balance of power in terms of governments.Joseph WrightA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Migration and Democracy: How Remittances Undermine Dictatorships here.Joe Wright is a p...
2022-01-1145 minDemocracy ParadoxRobert Lieberman, Kenneth Roberts, and David Bateman on Democratic Resilience and Political Polarization in the United StatesSo, the question is how do you respond to that? If you are the party that sees itself as being on the side of democracy and on the side of maintaining democratic norms and procedures and maintaining this kind of democratic accountability, how do you respond? Do you respond in kind? Do you respond with hardball tactics of your own?Robert LiebermanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Democratic Resilience: Can the United States Withstand Rising Polarization? here.Robert C. Lieberman is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor o...
2022-01-0457 minDemocracy ParadoxAngus Deaton on Deaths of Despair and the Future of CapitalismIt's this sort of persistent loss of wages, which causes things like loss of marriage, people not living with their kids anymore, disintegration of communities with all of the things in those communities whether it's churches or union halls or society, just friendship that used to be there. And those are the things that cause people to lose meaning or, if you like, lose hope in their lives.Angus DeatonA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism here.A...
2021-12-2846 minDemocracy ParadoxZeynep Pamuk on the Role of Science and Expertise in a DemocracyScience is never offering the whole truth. It may be offering us something accurate. Scientific findings may be reliable for now, but they are always incomplete.Zeynep PamukA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Politics and Expertise: How to Use Science in a Democratic Society here.Zeynep Pamuk is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego and the author of the book Politics and Expertise: How to Use Science in a Democratic Society.Key Highlights
2021-12-2152 minDemocracy ParadoxCaitlin Andrews-Lee on Charismatic Movements and Personalist LeadersCharismatic leaders who are intent on governing solely using their charismatic authority and subverting other things to their personal power are inherently bad for democracy and inherently illiberal. They're anti-pluralist. They don't want to share their power with others even within their own movement or their own party. They don't tolerate dissent.Caitlin Andrews-LeeA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of The Emergence and Revival of Charismatic Movements: Argentine Peronism and Venezuelan Chavismo here.Caitlin Andrews-Lee is an Assistant Professor in Ryerson University’s Department of Pol...
2021-12-1449 minDemocracy ParadoxStephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman on Democratic BackslidingThe way we conceive of democracy is being challenged by these regimes and, by that I mean, because the process of backsliding is so incremental, it's difficult to see where these boundaries are.Stephan HaggardA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World here.Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman are the authors of the new book, Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World. Stephan is the Lawrence and Sallye Krause Distinguished Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy a...
2021-12-0744 minDemocracy ParadoxJoshua Yaffa on Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia‘What would you prefer? Would you prefer that this boy, Vasya, die because he couldn't get dialysis? Would you prefer that this girl, Katya, die from her shrapnel wounds that she suffered during the war that was obviously not her fault? Right? Like would it be better if I held my nose and refuse to engage in these compromises so these kids died? Would you be sort of happier, so you could write about how awful the bloody Putin regime is?’Joshua Yaffa explaining the perspective of Russian humanitarian Elizaveta GlinkaA full transcript is avai...
2021-11-3048 minDemocracy ParadoxZoltan Barany on the Ineffectiveness of the Gulf MilitariesThe last time, and luckily this hasn't really happened since 1990, there was minimal resistance from the Kuwaiti and the Saudi forces. So, this obviously is 30 years ago, but there is little reason to believe that in spite of the hundreds of billions of dollars that is spent on armaments, this state of affairs has changed. Let me just put it this way. Nobody in Tehran is losing any sleep over the prowess of any of the Gulf militaries.Zoltan BaranyA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Armies...
2021-11-2351 minDemocracy ParadoxAmory Gethin on Political Cleavages, Inequality, and Party Systems in 50 DemocraciesIndeed, the moderation of left-wing party’s economic policy proposals in the eighties and in the nineties and the decision to promote an unregulated capitalism with no kind of proper compensation and no tax harmonization leading to greater offshore wealth and rising inequality. All these decisions have played a role in leading the working class to take distance from these parties and, at the same time, enabling these new issues to take a growing importance.Amory GethinA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Political Cleavages and Social In...
2021-11-1652 minDemocracy ParadoxDaniel Brinks on the Politics of Institutional WeaknessWe don't think about institutions until they fail and we think of institutions as being really strong when maybe they've never been challenged. They've never really tried to do anything.Daniel BrinksA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of The Politics of Institutional Weakness in Latin America here.Daniel Brinks joins the podcast to discuss his new book The Politics of Institutional Weakness in Latin America. He is the coeditor along with Steven Levitsky and María Victoria Murillo. Dan is a professor of Government and o...
2021-11-0952 minDemocracy ParadoxElizabeth Perry and Grzegorz Ekiert on State-Mobilized MovementsWhat we are doing in this volume is blurring the boundaries between this older conception of top-down mobilized movements and this newer conception of bottom-up organic, spontaneous civil society propelled movements and discovering that there's an awful lot in the middle there.Elizabeth PerryA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Ruling by Other Means: State-Mobilized Movements here.Elizabeth Perry and Grzegorz Ekiert join the podcast to discuss their new book Ruling by Other Means: State-Mobilized Movements (coedited with Xiaojun Yan). Elizabeth is the Henry Rosovsky...
2021-11-0250 minDemocracy ParadoxSusan Rose-Ackerman on the Role of the Executive in Four Different DemocraciesMany of these things that you and I are talking about are simply initiatives put forward by the chief executive or maybe by a cabinet minister. Something they want to do and rather than something that they're required to do. And it seems to me that that's a rather fragile base on which to build a more effective participatory process, which doesn't give up on the role of technocracy and expertise.Susan Rose-AckermanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Democracy and Executive Power: Policymaking Accountability in the...
2021-10-2643 minDemocracy ParadoxTom Ginsburg Shares his Thoughts on Democracy and International LawAt the end of the day, I am optimistic despite all the evidence. First of all, I think there are a lot of resources that democracies can use. A lot of areas of law, where as long as we recognize what it is we're fighting for, democracy is worth fighting for and have a common view as to what that means that we can advance it in many places, not just here but abroad. And this might sound a little hokey, but there really is a genuine human demand for freedom and that's not going away.Tom...
2021-10-1951 minDemocracy ParadoxRobert Meister Believes Justice is an OptionSo, now I've developed a way of talking about revolution as an option that can't be exercised, but that still has present value and I've set up a mechanism for saying what that present value is. Namely the value of the liquidity premium that a democracy that consents to maintaining accumulated wealth can extract for guaranteeing that the wealth continues to accumulate.Robert MeisterA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Justice is an Option: A Democratic Theory of Finance for the Twenty-First Century here.Robert M...
2021-10-1250 minDemocracy ParadoxMartin Conway Believes "Democracy Owes its Durability Not to its Principles but to its Flexibility." Democracy in Western Europe from 1945 to 1968Where you and I and, I think, many others start from an assumption that somehow there is a thing called democracy and we sort of know what it is. But the diversity within democracy is far larger than that. You know, there's clear big institutional temperamental differences between visions of representatives ruling, people ruling, and so on. All these sorts of things are different models of democracy and therefore the word democracy in some respects becomes rather meaningless.Martin ConwayA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Western...
2021-10-0553 minDemocracy ParadoxDonald Horowitz on the Formation of Democratic ConstitutionsThe most beautiful thing that happened in Indonesia, by the way, which was a polarized society along religious lines more than anything else, was that by the end of the proceedings, everybody knew what everybody else's problems were, what everyone else's constituencies wanted. They knew if X noticed that Y was making a demand, before long X figured out what was behind the demand and why Y had to make it and whether it was a real demand or whether it was made just for the sake of being on record.Donald HorowitzA full...
2021-09-2849 minDemocracy ParadoxGuillermo Trejo and Sandra Ley on the Political Logic of Criminal Wars in MexicoUp to today, since the Mexican government deployed the military in 2006 up to the present, Mexico has experienced close to 200,000 battle deaths. That's roughly the number of battle deaths that took place in the civil war in Guatemala. So, the 36 year old civil war in Guatemala that produced approximately 200,000 battle deaths. That's where Mexico is right now.Guillermo TrejoA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Mexican politics here.Guillermo Trejo is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. Sandra Ley is an Assistant...
2021-09-2153 minDemocracy ParadoxRana Siu Inboden on China and the International Human Rights RegimeChinese participation in the human rights regime probably was never really intended to alter human rights so much in China that it would jeopardize the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power. I think China, even if it may have been open to some areas of human rights, I think that we have to keep in mind that the full implementation of human rights including all of the elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would mean that political competition is allowed. And that's just not something I see the current Chinese regime allowing.Rana Siu In...
2021-09-1449 minDemocracy ParadoxTimothy Frye Says Putin is a Weak StrongmanPutin in the past could claim to have won at least an honest plurality, if not an honest majority of votes given his approval. However, in the upcoming election this fall, in September, it looks like the Kremlin has so restricted political competition that it's going to be a difficult sell to the Russian public to show that these elections are even as legitimate as the elections held in 2016 or in 2011.Timothy FryeA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on personalism here.Timothy Frye is a...
2021-09-0748 minDemocracy ParadoxKathryn Stoner on Russia's Economy, Politics, and Foreign PolicyBiden's current policy is, you know, we want Putin to calm down, be stable for awhile and turn our focus to restraining China. I don't think that's going to happen. That's not in his interest to do that. So, I think taking our eye off Russia, underestimating it, is the biggest concern for the U.S. currently.Kathryn StonerA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Russia here.Kathryn Stoner is a professor of political science at Stanford University. Her new book is Russia Resurrected: Its...
2021-08-3138 minDemocracy ParadoxKaren Greenberg on the War on Terror, Donald Trump, and American DemocracyIt was an era in which lawmakers and office holders learned that imprecision could actually work to their benefit to allow them to do what they wanted to because there was unclear codification in the law. And so yes, everybody talks about, we have to revise this law or get rid of this law or replace this law. But I want to say, it's not about that. It's about what constitutes a legitimately written, voted upon law. And I think that's something we still haven't countered since 9/11.Karen GreenbergA full transcript is available at...
2021-08-2444 minDemocracy ParadoxCharles Kupchan on America's Tradition of IsolationismBeginning in the 1990s, and then really picking up after 9/11, the United States overreached ideologically by thinking it could turn Iraq and Afghanistan into Ohio. It overreached economically by throwing open the nation's doors and saying the more trade, the better. And suddenly, I think, Americans said to themselves and to their leaders, ‘Wait a minute. Too much world, not enough America.'Charles KupchanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Isolationism here.Charles Kupchan is a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and a...
2021-08-1750 minDemocracy ParadoxAldo Madariaga on Neoliberalism, Democratic Deficits, and ChileIt's not just inequality of wealth. It is not just inequality of income, which is big. It's also inequality in terms of the geographical clustering of different strata of the population, of different people. It's inequality in life experiences. It's inequality in treatment. People felt mistreated by those in the upper echelons of society. So, it's not just money. It's also access to public goods, to certain spaces in the city, to education, unemployment benefits, and all sorts of things. But also, treatment.Aldo MadariagaA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or...
2021-08-1044 minDemocracy ParadoxRoger Lee Huang on Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the TatmadawI think this actually reflects why we've seen a coup now. Clearly, the coup has really brought serious economic devastation for the entire country and the military itself will also not benefit from this. And that to me is the key, because they're not primarily motivated just by economic incentives and spoils. As a systematic military institution, it is driven by their own identity. Their own perception of what the Myanmar modern nation state should look like.Roger Lee HuangA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Myanmar...
2021-08-0347 minDemocracy ParadoxMallory SoRelle on the Politics of Consumer CreditAmericans are expected to take on debt, because that's how we're expected to finance everything from basic needs to a college education. And that's a function of economic policy making. That doesn't happen by accident.Mallory SoRelleA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Mallory SoRelle is an assistant professor of public policy at Duke University and the author of Democracy Declined: The Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection.Key Highlights IncludeHow the American economy depends on creditA brief history of consumer credit in AmericaDetails...
2021-07-2750 minDemocracy ParadoxDavid Stasavage on Early Democracy and its DeclineThis was not a phenomenon to one specific region. This was nothing that got invented in one place and at one time. It seems to have emerged independently in a wide, wide variety of human societies at different points in time. And to me, that sounds like something that occurs naturally.David StasavageA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.David Stasavage is the Dean of Social Sciences and a Professor of Politics at New York University. His latest book is called The Decline and Rise of Democracy....
2021-07-2045 minDemocracy ParadoxChristophe Jaffrelot on Narendra Modi and Hindu NationalismThe police is even acting directly against the minorities and the Delhi riots of 2020 showed that the police could be on their side in the street in their rioting activities. This is exactly the same in other BGP ruled states like Uttar Pradesh. Now you have indeed a kind of new shift, if you want. It's not only with the blessing of the state. It’s also with the active participation of the state.Christophe JaffrelotA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Christophe Jaffrelot is a director of research at Sc...
2021-07-1349 minDemocracy ParadoxJan-Werner Müller on Democracy RulesIt really matters how you set up conflict and how you talk about the issue and above all how you talk about your adversary. That's where I see the decisive difference between those who tend to invoke the people, the common good and et cetera, in a way that is compatible with democracy and then those who talk in a way that, ultimately, is bound to be dangerous for democracy.Jan-Werner MüllerA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Jan is a professor of Social Sciences at Princeton University. He i...
2021-07-0648 minDemocracy ParadoxDorothy Sue Cobble on the Full Rights FeministsThey wanted the full array of rights. Political rights, yes, they were active in the suffrage movement, but they also wanted economic rights and social rights. They wanted to lessen inequalities. They also wanted the rights of mothers and of children advanced.Dorothy Sue CobbleA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Dorothy Sue Cobble is the Distinguished Professor of History and Labor Studies Emerita at Rutgers University and the author of For the Many: American Feminists and the Global Fight for Democratic Equality.Key Highlights Include
2021-06-2950 minDemocracy ParadoxFreedom House: Sarah Repucci Assesses Freedom in the WorldDemocracy is about more than elections. Election day is very important, but what is happening in the country every other day is an integral part to what a democracy is and if you think about the fundamental freedoms that we think of in our own democracy: free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association and assembly, also things like the independence of the judiciary, these are all things that are on the civil liberties side.Sarah RepucciA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Sarah Repucci is the Vice President of...
2021-06-2243 minDemocracy ParadoxMichael Miller on the Unexpected Paths to DemocratizationSo many cases of democratization start with these episodes and this period of elite political violence where the initial stages of it have nothing to do with democratization. People are not aiming for that. People are barely even thinking about it. It's all about this elite political struggle and out of that chaos a bit later you get democracy.Michael MillerA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Michael Miller is a professor of political science and international relations at George Washington University and the author of the forthcoming book Shock...
2021-06-1545 minDemocracy ParadoxDaniel Carpenter Revisits the Petition in 19th Century AmericaThe idea of a political system is not simply to be efficient. It's to have justice. It's to have the idea that anybody can come to the seat of power and say, 'Here are my grievances,' and that doesn't mean that by making that claim, they will get exactly what they want. But it does mean that they will get a hearing and in that notion, I think, lies again, a certain part of democracy that is not reduceable just to elections.Daniel CarpenterA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
2021-06-0846 minDemocracy ParadoxSebastian Strangio Explains the Relationship Between China and Southeast AsiaThe experience of Western colonization has imprinted all of these nations in profound ways and it's tended to inculcate a sort of skepticism about Western invocations of democracy and the rule of law. China, of course, shares a similar skepticism. China was also not formerly colonized, or not fully colonized by Western powers, but it experienced what the Chinese communist party likes to term a century of humiliation. And so, both regions share an abiding ambivalence about the current international order.Sebastian StrangioA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Sebastian S...
2021-06-0145 minDemocracy ParadoxCan America Preserve Democracy without Retreating from it? Robert C. Lieberman on the Four ThreatsRacism and racial conflict are always there, always a powerful and important part of American politics. But when they combine with polarization, with this kind of partisan antagonism, and when that becomes the dividing line between the parties, that's really dangerous. That's what happened in the 1850s. It led to civil war. That's what happened in the 1890s. It led to violent conflict and mass disenfranchisement. And it's happening again today.Robert C. LiebermanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights IncludeAn account of the 1898...
2021-05-2548 minDemocracy ParadoxKurt Weyland Distinguishes Between Fascism and AuthoritarianismIn the 19th century Europe had thought that they had moved towards liberalism, enlightenment, rationality, progress, that stuff like mass warfare was over and it wouldn't come back. And then you have four years of senseless, mass slaughter, they just totally destroyed or challenged those ideas of humankind getting better off, progress of humankind getting more civilized. In retrospect, it's hard to imagine the coincidence of deep challenges and crises that wrecked the interwar years.Kurt WeylandA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights IncludeKurt...
2021-05-1853 minDemocracy ParadoxJames Loxton Explains Why Authoritarian Successor Parties Succeed in DemocraciesThey really view their history as one of victimization, one of struggle and even martyrdom. ARENA had multiple leaders assassinated. Again, that version of history that I just told you, that's not necessarily my view. But I do actually believe that that is their sincere belief and it makes for a really compelling founding myth if you will. And I think that founding myth has helped to hold both parties together right up until the present day.James LoxtonA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights Include
2021-05-1154 minDemocracy ParadoxDerek W. Black Says Public Education Represents the Idea of America... Not its RealityI find it hard to believe, without a lot more justification than they're offering that somehow that there's this new secret sauce to opportunity and equality and democracy that does not involve public education as the fundamental pillar. So you have people arguing that it's not. They're not saying we want to destroy democracy, but I'm saying, you as reader, you as listeners, need to think about the long-term consequences of shrinking the public education footprint and moving back into a siloed or a fiefdom or a private system that resembles our darkest days.Derek W. Black
2021-05-0451 minDemocracy ParadoxSheryl WuDunn Paints a Picture of Poverty in America and Offers Hope for SolutionsThat's why all Americans should care. Because the cost of poverty is not just the cost to that person who is in poverty. It's a cost to all of society. We're all paying for people being jailed. We're all paying for extra costs in the legal system, in the police force, in the healthcare system.Sheryl WuDunnA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights IncludeStories of Poverty and Inequality in AmericaChallenges in America in Education, Health, and Well-BeingImpact of Poverty on Children with an Explanation...
2021-04-2747 minDemocracy ParadoxMike Hoffman on How Religious Identities Influence Support for or Opposition to DemocracyDoctrine is actually often a lot looser and more subject to interpretation than we tend to assume and the way that the doctrine gets interpreted is often partially a function of group interests themselves. If you have a religious group in a given country that believes it would benefit from democracy, it's pretty likely that that group will find a way to interpret and frame its doctrine in a way that supports democracy.- Mike HoffmanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights IncludeRole of...
2021-04-2054 minDemocracy ParadoxShari Davis Elevates Participatory BudgetingParticipatory budgeting is actually about connecting folks with the skills and resources to navigate and shape government. And so, for me, that is the most optimistic and the most important outcome of any participatory budgeting process.Shari DavisA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights IncludeA walk through the process of participatory budgeting with an exampleThe history of participatory budgeting around the worldAn example of participatory budgeting in ChinaThe Role of Art in DemocracyNext steps for Participatory BudgetingShari Davis leads the Participatory Budget...
2021-04-1352 minDemocracy ParadoxChris Bickerton Defines TechnopopulismThat tension between the politics of the whole and the politics of the part, that tension between the politics of generality and the politics of particularity, is really at the heart of party democracy. What we are sort of trying to capture, I suppose, with technopopulism is to think of a form of politics where that tension has simply gone.Chris BickertonA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Key Highlights Include- Chris describes Technopopulism through an explanation of the Five Star Movement in Italy
2021-04-0643 minDemocracy ParadoxRoss Benes on Nebraska and Rural ConservatismThe legislature is one of several examples of our history of being independent which is why I think it was such an important story to tell of Nebraska becoming like baptized into Republican orthodoxy. Because seeing that shift. That it wasn't always that way. We founded Arbor day in this state, we settle a lot of refugees per capita, we increased minimum wage, and Medicaid through ballot measures recently. We do stuff like that.- Ross BenesA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Red states and blue states. Republicans and Democrats...
2021-03-3045 minDemocracy ParadoxChad Alan Goldberg on the Wisconsin Idea and the Role of the Public University in a DemocracyThey had an obligation to take the knowledge that they were developing, to take their expertise and put it in the service of the community as a whole and the service of its elected leaders.Chad Alan GoldbergA Fulll Transcript is Available at www.democracyparadox.com.At the turn of the twentieth century, Wisconsin was at the forefront of the Progressive Movement. Wisconsin adopted the first modern state income tax. It initiated the first workers’ compensation plan. It enacted the first unemployment insurance program. Wisconsin even spearheaded important constitutional reforms like the di...
2021-03-2353 minDemocracy ParadoxElizabeth Nugent on Polarization, Democratization and the Arab SpringThe focus on the individual people involved in this moment and their preexisting relationships for me is a new way of thinking about democratic transitions. Because I think we see how much these personal relationships and personal histories matter for whether or not they can make these really big, important decisions at a moment of very high stress, very little information.Elizabeth NugentA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Elizabeth Nugent believes political polarization derailed Egyptian democratization, while the lack of severe polarization has allowed Tunisian democracy to survive. But...
2021-03-1651 minDemocracy ParadoxRyan Salzman is an Evangelist for PlacemakingLike so many things we're coming to grips with now in the 21st century, we're realizing that the 20th century was the anomaly. We feel like what was happening in the first 20 years of the 21st century that that was the anomaly. But it's not. The 20th century was the anomaly. And there's a temptation among policymakers to say, ‘But this is how it's always been.’ No. Wrong.Ryan SalzmanA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.I live in Carmel, Indiana and in May The Farmers’ Market opens. It’s in a sma...
2021-03-0951 minDemocracy ParadoxKajri Jain Believes Democracy Unfolds through the Aesthetic"We don’t pay enough attention to the sensory aspects of what it means to be equal. That’s what it fundamentally is. That’s the presupposition of democracy. Not the goal. The presupposition is that we are equal, but does our comportment reinforce that or does it re-institute hierarchies."Kajri JainA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.This week’s guest is Kajri Jain. She is an art historian from the University of Toronto and the author of Gods in the Time of Democracy. Her work is well known among sc...
2021-03-0257 minDemocracy ParadoxNic Cheeseman and Gabrielle Lynch on the Moral Economy of Elections in AfricaA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.It’s common for Westerners to lecture Africans about democracy. Most Africans will admit their different political systems have many problems. Money is exchanged for votes, elections are rigged, and sometimes violence even breaks out. But the challenges African countries face in the process of democratization are not absent in the rest of the world.The 2020 American Presidential Election exposed many problems in the United States. The storming of the American capital proved that even violence is possible in the world’s oldest democracy. My point here...
2021-02-2345 minDemocracy ParadoxThomas Carothers and Andrew O'Donohue are Worried About Severe PolarizationA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.My thoughts on polarization have changed over the past few years. On the one hand, polarization can be a danger to democracy. Milan Svolik among others have shown how strong ideological positions lead some voters to support leaders they know are undemocratic. Moreover, democracy depends on the willingness of both parties to make compromises to govern effectively. But on the other hand, there are issues where compromise itself is undemocratic. How do you compromise on the right to vote? Is it polarizing to refuse to waiver o...
2021-02-1654 minDemocracy ParadoxCan Democracy Survive the Internet? Nate Persily and Josh Tucker on Social Media and DemocracyA complete transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Over the past ten years social media has reshaped politics. Fake news and political disinformation have become a part of the political discourse. But social media has also brought about meaningful change through the #metoo and #blacklivesmatter movements. Social media has allowed dissident voices to express themselves in authoritarian regimes, but it has also given a platform to anti-democratic views in Western Nations. It has reawakened our sense of fairness, while it has brought to light some of our darkest demons. In the final analysis, social m...
2021-02-0947 minDemocracy ParadoxJacob Hacker and Paul Pierson on the Plutocratic Populism of the Republican PartyA transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Democracy depends on distinctions between political parties. Every election they offer clear choices on economic proposals. In recent years, cultural issues have added a new dimension to the polarization of American politics. But the 2020 election added a dangerous dimension to the political divide. The Republican Party has begun to question the integrity of elections and the value of democracy itself. It is not clear how far the Republican Party intends to widen this issue, but the ramifications are dangerous for constitutional government. So how did we...
2021-02-0248 minDemocracy ParadoxBryn Rosenfeld on Middle Class Support for Dictators in Autocratic RegimesA full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Barrington Moore famously claimed, “No bourgeoisie. No democracy.” Many scholars before and after Moore have argued the middle class is necessary for successful democratization. But Moore had a specific image of the middle class. The bourgeoisie were not simply white-collar professionals. They were entrepreneurs who were independent of the landed aristocracy.Bryn Rosenfeld recognizes a new source for the growth of the middle class. Many authoritarian regimes have established a state dependent middle class. A professional class who relies on the state bureaucracy for employment and thin...
2021-01-2645 minDemocracy ParadoxZizi Papacharissi Dreams of What Comes After DemocracyPolitical theorist Takis Pappas has described the formation of liberal democracy as an elite project. Its creation was dependent on the decisions of political leaders rather than the public. But over the subsequent decades the space between politicians and their constituents has grown smaller. It is now unclear whether elected officials remain political leaders or whether they simply follow the opinions of their constituents. Democracy is in the process of a transformation. Politicians have abdicated responsibility for political power to the people, but the people do not share a sense of responsibility for this newfound political power. S...
2021-01-1956 minDemocracy ParadoxWinston Mano on Social Media and Politics in Africa... And what America can Learn from Africa about DemocracyRecent events in the United States have shown how even the most established democracies have much to learn about democracy. But my guest Winston Mano does not like to talk about democracy. He prefers to talk about democratization because the process never ends. Our conversation focuses on Africa with many topics discussed including social media, decolonization, and, of course, democracy. It concludes with a complex question, “What can America learn about democracy from Africa?”When I ask this question, it is not intended to embarrass Americans, but to look for insights from abroad. Winston believes humility is crit...
2021-01-1256 minDemocracy ParadoxMichael Hughes on the History of Democracy in GermanyThe German Question haunted international relations for generations. Like China, it was a rising authoritarian power. But its successful democratization after the Second World War cast an amnesia upon the uncertainty and anxiety it had caused the international community. Today democracy in Germany is taken for granted. It is a force of democratic stability within Europe and in the world. Its journey from dictatorship to democracy is largely forgotten and its current challenges are often ignored. Some of those challenges have surfaced in recent years. Hessian politician, Walter Lübcke , was assassinated by a far rig...
2021-01-0554 minDemocracy ParadoxLee Drutman Makes the Case for Multiparty Democracy in AmericaMadison’s Federalist 10 makes an unusual case. He argued the size and diversity of the United States is a critical safeguard against the dominance of any single faction. Of course, it is well-known that the Founding Fathers were wary of all factions, political parties and, most of all, the tyranny of the majority. The American constitution is even described as counter majoritarian, because multiple avenues exist for entrenched minorities to prevail in the legislative process. But Madison was different. While he is credited as the father of the constitution, he was among the most majoritarian of all the founding fa...
2020-12-2947 minDemocracy ParadoxHélène Landemore on Democracy without ElectionsThe origin of the third wave of democratization is commonly dated to the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974. The fall of the Soviet Union accelerated this process until about 2005 when the pace began to slow and it even began to reverse. But Robert Dahl thought about waves of democratization differently. He believed a democratic wave was more like a transformation. It was an intensification rather than a proliferation of democracy.Dahl allows us to interpret the current rise of populism around the world not as a rejection of democracy, but as a challenge as democratic governance and...
2020-12-2252 minDemocracy ParadoxGlenn Tiffert on the Manipulation of Academia by Foreign GovernmentsThis week America discovered some startling news. Russians hacked into the email systems of the Commerce and Treasury Departments. The information age has brought about a new era of intelligence and espionage. This was a blatant act of theft, but more subtle forms of espionage are available. Globalization has left many institutions vulnerable to foreign manipulation. I invited Glenn Tiffert from the Hoover Institution to shed light on this phenomenon through a discussion of two of his recent publications. He is the editor of Global Engagement: Rethinking Risk in the Research Enterprise. It is an examination of t...
2020-12-1548 minDemocracy ParadoxCarolyn Hendriks, Selen Ercan and John Boswell on Mending DemocracyThere is a book that was written in 1989 called Democracy and its Critics. The renowned Robert Dahl is the author. In the book, he answers objections to critiques of democracy through a series of dialogues. One of them has stuck with me because I hear it so often: The problem with democracy is it is not democratic enough. Many of the scholars who are featured on the Democracy Paradox have ideas or plans to make democracy more democratic. Many books, articles, and podcasts focus on ways to reform or redesign institutions so they can become more democratic. F...
2020-12-081h 04Democracy ParadoxMareike Ohlberg on the Global Influence of the Chinese Communist PartyLast October Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey shook the sports world with a tweet. It said, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” Pretty simple. Not controversial…. at least, not controversial in the United States. But China was offended. They cut off all economic ties with the Rockets and demanded an apology from the National Basketball Association. And they got one. China uses its economic clout to shape the public discourse in business, academia, politics, and even sports. Its authoritarian impulse has no boundaries. Even citizens of liberal democracies are subject to its influence. This is the t...
2020-12-0148 minDemocracy ParadoxXiaoyu Pu on China's Global IdentitiesChina is a nation of contradictions. It is a developing economy that is an economic powerhouse. It is a rising power that is already a great power. It is a communist state that has embraced capitalism. The dualism of yin and yang is not simply an element of Chinese philosophy. It is a source of modern Chinese identity. This is part two of “Liberalism, Capitalism, Communism” about the global ascendance of China. Last week was about liberal internationalism. Next week will focus on the global influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Part 1 was about liberalism. Part 3 is about...
2020-11-2357 minDemocracy ParadoxG. John Ikenberry on Liberal InternationalismDemocracy is often imagined at its purest at a micro level. Town hall meetings are sometimes imagined as a simpler form of democratic governance, so international relations can feel as though it is miles away from democracy. Andy yet, it is the international liberal order which has brought about the vast proliferation of democracy around the world. My guest, John Ikenberry, notes “Liberal democracy was both a national and an international project… Its institutions and ideals were premised on an expanding world of trade, exchange, and community.” Scholars talk about liberal democracy. Sometimes it is not clear whether...
2020-11-1654 minDemocracy ParadoxAmy Erica Smith on Politics and Religion in BrazilPolitical Scientist Seymour Martin Lipset wrote, “A person who knows only one country doesn't know any country because you're not sensitized to what is unique, what is different, what is special about your country.” Brazil offers a parallel to the United States because it has a populist President who is active on social media and has been indifferent to the pandemic and hostile to the environment. But it also has differences in culture, development, and religion. The past week has largely been about the American Presidential Election for me. Like most of you my attention was focused on th...
2020-11-0956 minDemocracy ParadoxWilliam G. Howell and Terry M. Moe on the PresidencyMillions of Americans are voting for the President of the United States. Some of you will hear this episode before the election is over. Others will likely listen after the election is over. I hope my conversation with William Howell and Terry Moe will have relevance no matter when you listen. William is Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Terry is a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Our conversation explores their book Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy. These are f...
2020-11-0251 minDemocracy ParadoxBarbara Freese on Corporate DenialDemocratic values are about more than politics. They permeate throughout society and into the economy. Barbara Freese has examined how corporate leaders have not lived up to these values. She offers examples like the tobacco industry, the use of lead in gasoline, and global warming to demonstrate how they have avoided not just accountability but any sense of responsibility for behavior with catastrophic consequences. Barbara calls this phenomenon corporate denial and explains, “We should study corporate denial because corporations dominate our economy and shape our democracy, and for a huge proportion of Americans, corporate incentives, pressures, norms, and...
2020-10-2852 minDemocracy ParadoxPaul Robinson on Russian ConservatismThe Russian interference in the 2016 American Presidential election brought Russia to the forefront of conversations about international relations. But it has also given us a one-dimensional view of this complex country. Today’s conversation is about Russian Conservatism with historian Paul Robinson. We talk about conservatism as an ideology, we talk about its history, and we talk about the many dimensions of Russian Conservatism today that offer a complex and nuanced view.Our conversation is not an endorsement of Russian Conservatism. It is a largely undemocratic and anti-liberal school of thought. But even this statement is misleading be...
2020-10-1948 minDemocracy ParadoxJohn Matsusaka on National ReferendumsThe United States has a long tradition of direct democracy through referendums dating back to the early years of the republic. Nearly every state today has some form of referendums or ballot initiatives. Yet the United States has never had a national referendum. John Matsusaka points out that from a comparative perspective, this is unusual. Nearly all other democracies have held national referendums, and many have made them a regular part of their political process. Matsusaka emphasizes tradition should not be an obstacle. He writes, “American democracy is not a static system created by the Founders, but a w...
2020-10-1256 minDemocracy ParadoxDonald F. Kettl on FederalismFederalism has become marginalized in academic literature. Everybody knows the United States depends on a federal system, but few talk about it. The nationalization of politics makes federalism feel esoteric and obsolete. My conversation with Donald Kettl explains why federalism remains vibrant and relevant. And it is necessary to understand American politics today as much as it has ever been.Listeners will find we talk about equality almost as much as federalism. Don writes in his book, The Divided States of America, “Federalism, instead of bridging the gaps in the polarization and inequality of the new century, fe...
2020-10-0457 minDemocracy ParadoxRecap of Resistance, Revolution, DemocracyJenna Spinelle, co-host of Democracy Works, joins the Democracy Paradox as a guest host as Justin recaps the three-part episode arc "Resistance, Revolution, Democracy." The tables are turned as Justin is interviewed about his background, thoughts on democracy, and final ideas about the past three episodes. Jenna conducts the interviews for the award-winning podcast, Democracy Works. The McCourtney Institute of Democracy at Penn State University sponsors Democracy Works. It has been a fixture of those engaged in conversations about Democracy since 2018. Look for them wherever you listen to Democracy Paradox. Thanks to Apes of the...
2020-10-0437 minDemocracy ParadoxJonathan Pinckney on Civil Resistance TransitionsJonathan Pinckney is a program office with the Program on Nonviolent Action at the United States Institute of Peace and the author of From Dissent to Democracy: The Promise and Perils of Civil Resistance Transitions. This is the third part of a three episode arc called, "Resistance, Revolution, Democracy." My conversation with Erica Chenoweth explored the idea of civil resistance. The next week I was able to discuss revolutions with George Lawson. This conversation pulls these ideas together to consider how regime transitions can produce sustainable democracies. A few different regime transitions are discussed from around the...
2020-09-271h 05
Alphahouse Training And Barbell PodcastAlphahouse training and barbell-Part 2 with Dustin KempfThe part 2 segment talking with guest Dustin Kempf.
2020-09-261h 25Alphahouse Training And Barbell PodcastAlphahouse training and barbell- Guest Dustin KempfGuest Dustin Kempf joins me to talk his mma career, training, and owning and operating his gym, All in training.
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2020-09-262h 38Democracy ParadoxGeorge Lawson on RevolutionThis is the second part of the three episode arc called "Resistance, Revolution, Democracy." George Lawson joins to discuss revolutions. His book, Anatomies of Revolution, offers both a historical framework to understand revolutions, but also analyzes them in their own unique context. We talk about all kinds of revolutions from history and current events. George brings up famous revolutions like the French and American Revolutions, but is also comfortable discussing the protests in Belarus or Tunisia and the Arab Spring. Last week's episode introduced the idea of civil resistance. Erica Chenoweth explained how nonviolent campaigns were more...
2020-09-2255 minDemocracy ParadoxErica Chenoweth on Civil ResistanceThis is the first conversation in a three part episode arc called "Resistance, Revolution, Democracy." In this interview, Erica Chenoweth explains why civil resistance is more effective than violent resistance, why it is more likely to bring about democracy, and the strengths and challenges every campaign faces. This interview sets the stage for the next two episodes. It explains some of the concepts and ideas of civil resistance scholars before the podcast moves on to ideas about revolutions (George Lawson) and transitions to democracy (Jonathan Pinckney). Erica Chenoweth is best known for her groundbreaking empirical...
2020-09-1530 minDemocracy ParadoxResistance, Revolution, DemocracyWhen there are no choices left, people resist. Resistance brings revolution. And sometimes a revolution brings about democracy. Over the next three weeks the Democracy Paradox will interview scholars to explore these topics. Erica Chenoweth will discuss Civil Resistance. George Lawson explains his research on Revolutions. And Jonathan Pinckney helps us understand the transformation from dissent to democracy. This three episode arc is called Resistance, Revolution, Democracy. The first is available September 16th. Available on the Democracy Paradox podcast. Subscribe today. September 16th - Erica Chenoweth, author of the forthcoming Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know
2020-09-0900 minDemocracy ParadoxJill Long Thompson on Character in a DemocracyA few fun disclaimers. I am a graduate of the Kelley School of Business MBA program where Jill Long Thompson teaches. My wife is a graduate of the Master's program at the School of Public and Environmental Affaits (SPEA) where Jill also works. And yet, we did not know each other before I reached out to her about the podcast. But I did know of her because she is widely known in Indiana for a long record of distinguished public service. She served three terms in Congress representing Indiana’s fourth district. She has been a nominee of...
2020-09-0739 minDemocracy ParadoxJuliet B. Schor on the Sharing EconomyMy conversation with Juliet explores what is called the sharing economy. Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb have transformed the economy and reshaped what it means to work. We discuss her book After The Gig: How the Sharing Economy got Hijacked and How to Win it Back. It explores the impacts of these platforms on society. The discussion delves into topics like race, class, and the ways good intentions so often produce the wrong results. This is not necessarily an episode about politics. But my blog has long explored economics, sociology, and other disciplines to better understand different aspects...
2020-08-301h 17Democracy ParadoxAgnes Cornell and Svend-Erik Skaaning on the Interwar PeriodMany scholars use the interwar period as a cautionary tale of democratic breakdown and collapse, but it was also a period of remarkable democratic stability in an age of crisis. Agnes Cornell and Svend-Eric Skaaning join your host, Justin Kempf, to discuss the first era of widespread democratization, the interwar period. The conversation focuses on their research and discusses some specific examples from this period including Denmark, Uruguay, and Czechoslovakia. Political science typically aims to make sense of recent world events. But there are many scholars who approach historical events from a perspective of comparative politics. The...
2020-08-231h 00Democracy ParadoxJohn Gastil and Katherine Knobloch on Citizen Initiative ReviewThe ninth episode revisits the initiative referendum except it introduces an important twist. John Gastil and Katherine Knobloch are the authors of Hope for Democracy: How Citizens Can Bring Reason Back into Politics. They consider how the idea of deliberative democracy was able to influence initiative referendums through a new institution called the Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR). This was a reform brought to life in Oregon a few years ago. John and Katie help us understand this specific reform but also discuss the broader idea of deliberative democracy. It is easy to get lost in the details...
2020-08-161h 15Democracy ParadoxYael Tamir on NationalismThe eighth episode of the Democracy Paradox features Israeli scholar Yael Tamir as we discuss her recent book Why Nationalism. Yael Tamir offers a refreshing look at nationalism as she looks to reclaim the concept from conservatives. We delve into some of the important concepts of her book but also apply these ideas to current events including the pandemic, Catalan separatism, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Tamir studied under the intellectual giant Isaiah Berlin at Oxford. She explains how Berlin became her mentor because nobody else was interested in her dissertation on nationalism!!! We discuss some...
2020-08-0958 minDemocracy ParadoxJoshua J. Dyck and Edward L. Lascher, Jr. on Initiative ReferendumsThe seventh episode of the Democracy Paradox focuses on the secondary effects of direct democracy with Joshua (Josh) J. Dyck and Edward (Ted) L. Lascher, Jr. Their recent book Initiatives without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy’s Secondary Effects. Typically, initiative referendums are discussed as a philosophical component of direct democracy. Josh and Ted focus on empirical data to show how initiatives have secondary effects with negative consequences. It is a distinct look at a topic many of us (falsely) believe we fully comprehend. The podcast examines the three key findings of their research in th...
2020-08-031h 31Democracy ParadoxWilliam S. Smith on Irving BabbittThis episode features William S. Smith, author of Democracy and Imperialism: Irving Babbitt and Warlike Democracies. Irving Babbitt is an underappreciated political theorist. He wrote the classic Democracy and Leadership in 1924 before the Behavioralist Revolution of the 1950s so his work is often overlooked by contemporary political scientists. Babbitt has an enormous influence on conservative political theory and philosophy. His ideas about democracy, leadership and imperialism are as relevant for discussion today than ever before. His focus on character and virtue in political leaders has never been more salient than it has been during the global pandemic. ...
2020-07-261h 06Democracy ParadoxTakis Pappas on Populism and Liberal DemocracyTakis Pappas is the author of Populism and Liberal Democracy: A Comparative and Theoretical Analysis. We have an hour long conversation about populism, liberalism and democracy. The interview lays out some of these key concepts but also includes some discussion of specific examples including Orban, Trump and Greece. We talk quite a bit about the concept of charismatic leadership. Takis gives a broad overview of populism that is ideal for undergraduates, but also interesting for those with a strong background in the study of populism. Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I...
2020-07-191h 10Democracy ParadoxAlexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon on the End of American HegemonyAlexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon are the authors of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order. We had a 90 minute conversation on some important topics for the study of international relations. The first part discusses some key concepts in their book like "hegemony" and the "liberal world order." Dan and Alex both give a great overview that is ideal for beginners but also informative for those who have a strong background in the topic. The rest of the podcast explores a number of topics. We discuss Russia and China, kleptocracy, Viktor Orbán and, o...
2020-07-141h 23Democracy ParadoxLuis Cabrera on International Human RightsLuis Cabrera is the author of The Humble Cosmopolitan: Rights, Diversity, and Trans-state Democracy. He is Associate Professor in the Griffith Asia Institute and the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. His research focuses on global citizenship, human rights, and justice. The interview explores the political thought of Ambedkar, Dalit rights in India, and the implications of global citizenship. Luis Cabrera gives his thoughts on the need for international and regional institutions designed to protect the rights of minorities, but also elaborates on some important interrelated concepts like humility-arrogance and rights-duties. ...
2020-07-0855 minDemocracy ParadoxMarlene Mauk on Citizen Support for Democracies... and AutocraciesMarlene Mauk is the author of Citizen Support for Democratic and Autocratic Regimes. Support for autocratic regimes is a neglected topic up until the last few years. We discuss why citizens support autocracies, democracies and what this means for advocates of democracy. We have an interesting discussion about the potential for democracy in Africa. Mauk finds Sub-Saharan Africa has significant support for democracy and enormous potential for further democratization and consolidation. We discuss some of the giants of political theory including Lipset, Dahl and Lijphart. Mauk has a firm background on traditional political science theory so...
2020-06-2951 minDemocracy ParadoxMonologue on Hannah Arendt's The Origins of TotalitarianismEpisode 1: The inaugural episode explores Hannah Arendt's book The Origins of Totalitarianism. This is the only monologue in the series. Every other episode features a guest interview. It focuses on the distinction between the law and the state. Arendt loosely defines totalitarianism as the presence of the state in absence of law. Support the show
2020-06-2136 min