By Christopher Blair An Emerging Trend International borders are hardening around the world. Since 2001, more than 60 new borders have been fortified. Walls and fences are the most prominent manifestation of this trend. As of 2020, nearly 40% of all countries had walled their international borders to some extent. Media and scholarly attention have... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf Democracy Regressed Back to 1986? The recent report from the Varieties of Democracy made a stir with some of its headline findings. Perhaps the most controversial is their finding that global democracy has regressed back to the same level as 1986 for the average citizen. It raised many eyebrows, because this sets... Continue Reading →
By Kevin Frazier The Politics of the Judiciary What question should voters answer when evaluating whether to retain a justice on their state’s court of last resort? Some voters may ask whether the justice’s individual decisions align with their own policy preferences. Other voters—in fact, likely a majority of voters—will simply ask whether the justice... Continue Reading →
By Pablo Argote Another Chilean Constitutional Process Begins On Monday, March 6th, a group of experts named by the political parties met in "Salon de los Presidentes", a solemn room located in the facilities of the Chilean Congress in Santiago. The purpose of this meeting was nothing less than to initiate the third attempt to... Continue Reading →
By C. William Walldorf, Jr. A Boon or A Bust? Is the war in Ukraine a boon or bust for U.S. power? Despite Ukraine’s remarkable success, NATO’s increased unity, and Russia’s poor military performance, the answer to that question is more complicated than some might think. Especially in a war’s early stages, assessing the impact... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf What Exactly is Artificial Intelligence Throughout this podcast I have talked to writers about technology about its effects on democracy. Recently the background readings have started to touch on artificial intelligence more and more. For me it raises a lot of questions, because artificial intelligence is never as intelligent as advertised. Even... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf Measuring Democracy Around this time of year different organizations from Freedom House to Varieties of Democracy to The Economist Intelligence Unit and others release their annual reports on the state of democracy. For some time these reports have shown a widespread consensus that democracy is under threat. Some call it a democratic... Continue Reading →
Srdja Popovic is the co-founder of CANVAS, and was a founding member of the Otpor! (“Resistance!”) a movement that had a crucial part in bringing down the Milosevic regime in Serbia. He recently coauthored an article in the Journal of Democracy with Sophia McClennen and Joe Wright called, “How to Sharpen a Nonviolent Movement.”... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf What is a Successful Podcast After hosting a podcast for almost three years, I have learned quite a bit. However, I continue to find so much more to learn. Still, I think the Democracy Paradox meets my definition for what I call a successful podcast. Some will debate this with me. They will argue... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf Elections in 2023 Saturday's election in Nigeria was among the most anticipated elections of the year. Every presidential election in Nigeria is significant, because it's the most populous country in Africa and the sixth most populous in the world. Moreover, it's population is increasing rapidly with projections to overtake the United States... Continue Reading →
