Dorothy Sue Cobble joins the podcast to share the history of full rights feminists. Dorothy 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. They wanted the full array of rights. Political rights, yes,... Continue Reading →
Norms and Institutions The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) became law in 1996. It refused to recognize same-sex marriages at the federal level and allowed states to ignore marriage contracts between same-sex couples from other states. The law was never repealed, but was effectively overturned after the Supreme Court Decision Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.... Continue Reading →
Sarah Repucci from Freedom House joins the podcast to offer an assessment of democracy worldwide. Sarah coauthored (along with Amy Slipowitz) the most recent volume of Freedom in the World: Democracy Under Siege. We discuss the global decline of democracy, the impact of the pandemic, and highlight developments in India, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, and the US. ... Continue Reading →
Why Do Bad Leaders Stay in Power? Last month Aleksandr Lukashenko intercepted a European airliner and ordered it to land in Minsk so he could arrest the dissident journalist, Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend. The plane had not planned to land in Minsk nor had it planned to fly over Belarusian airspace. Belarus used a... Continue Reading →
Michael Miller joins the podcast to offer a novel theory of democratization. We discuss his new book Shock to the System: Coups, Elections, and War on the Road to Democratization. This is the 52 episode of the podcast. So many cases of democratization start with these episodes and this period of elite political violence where... Continue Reading →
Very Brief History of Democracy Promotion The world changed in 1989. Eastern Europe began a process of political liberalization and democratization. A few years later, the Soviet Union collapsed. Fifteen new states emerged from its ashes. The third wave of democratization accelerated as many new nations faced new pressures to liberalize their political and economic... Continue Reading →
Daniel Carpenter joins the podcast to describe how the petition contributed to democratization in America in the 19th Century. We discuss his new book Democracy by Petition: Popular Politics in Transformation, 1790-1870. This is the 51st episode of the podcast. The idea of a political system is not simply to be efficient. It's to have... Continue Reading →
Conservatism Reimagined Let me be clear: Conservative democracy is not an illiberal democracy. Indeed, a conservative democracy is a liberal democracy. Let me explain. Democratization depends on liberals, but its consolidation depends on conservatives. A conservative democracy is likely an incomplete democracy, but at the same time it guarantees widespread support for democracy. Now, plenty... Continue Reading →
Sebastian Strangio joins the podcast to discuss relationship between Southeast and China. Sebastian is the Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat and the author of In the Dragon's Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century. This is the 50th episode of the podcast. The experience of Western colonization has imprinted all of these nations... Continue Reading →
