Michael Walzer is an emeritus professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. He was also a longtime editor of Dissent. He is the author of many books including the classic of political philosophy Spheres of Justice. His most recent book is called The Struggle for a Decent Politics: On “Liberal” as an Adjective. Become a... Continue Reading →
By Tiffany Muller Exploiting Citizens United Thirteen years ago, the Supreme Court handed down the Citizens United v. FEC decision, one of the most disastrous decisions in the Court’s history. The case took two bad ideas and combined them–the idea that money equals speech and corporations are people. The Court effectively put a for sale... Continue Reading →
By Zak Schneider Some Fundamentally New and Radical Assumptions On a blustery day in late June of 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke in front of a rapturous crowd in the streets of the American quarter of the partitioned city of Berlin. With American flags billowing in the background, he said, “freedom has many difficulties,... Continue Reading →
By Robert C. Lieberman A Profound Disappointment For anyone who thought that Donald Trump’s electoral defeat and subsequent humiliation would diminish the extreme polarization that afflicts American politics, the opening of the 118th Congress can only have been a pretty profound disappointment. For half a century or more in the middle and late twentieth century,... Continue Reading →
By Idayat Hassan Democratic Deficiencies in Benin. The third wave of democracy in Africa took root in the republic of Benin, a small West Africa state. Its origin dates back to the constitutional reform of 1990. The reform adopted multiparty democracy and led to the dissolution of the very government that brought it into existence.... Continue Reading →
Robert Kagan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, a columnist at The Washington Post, and among the most influential writers on foreign policy today. His latest book is Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941. Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. We... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Frazier A State Constitutional Convention In less than two years, Rhode Island residents will have an opportunity to serve as the democratic innovators so desperately needed in these gridlocked times. Every ten years, a question is placed on Rhode Island ballots: “Shall there be a convention to amend or revise the Constitution?” The... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf Partisan Conflicts The never-ending votes for House Speaker have challenged common assumptions about American politics. Unlike the multi-party legislatures in other democracies, the American political system features two dominant political parties. This means leadership contests are almost always routine. Behind the scenes they might involve fierce conflicts, but those get resolved before... Continue Reading →
By Šumit Ganguly India's Democratic History Contrary to popular belief, the British had done little to bequeath democracy to India. Instead, democracy emerged in India due to the relentless efforts of Indian nationalists who appropriated liberal democratic ideals and embedded them in the nascent country. The country forged a democratic constitution in 1950, just three... Continue Reading →
By María Isabel Puerta Riera This is an updated version of the Spanish article published by Agenda Pública in 2021. Succession Under Autocracy Some analysts and experts in Venezuelan politics refer to Chavismo as a political movement that demands permanence in power. It repudiates the alternation of power. Moreover, this is not some sort of... Continue Reading →
