Thomas Piketty is best known for the publication of Capital in the Twenty-First Century. It changed how the intellectual community thought about the problem of inequality. Despite the fact it may not have changed many opinions, it is one of the most influential books on economics in the past quarter century. It provided a language... Continue Reading →
Introduction This week's list includes some big names like David Graeber, Brian Klaas, and Hélène Landemore. But it also includes an edited volume on Indian Democracy and an academic work on political mobilization in democracies. Some of these books focus more on democracy than others. However, they all focus on topics that I find relevant... Continue Reading →
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 of Law at the University of Texas at Austin and a Senior Researcher & Global Scholar of the Centre... Continue Reading →
What is Institutional Weakness? Over the past few years political science has woken up to the importance of state capacity in the construction of stable governments. Unfortunately, scholars have not paid the same level of attention to the strength of institutions. It’s easy to take for granted that improvements in state capacity will naturally... Continue Reading →
Introduction This week includes three books on American politics including two books focused on the American Constitution. The other two books discuss political thought in India and democracy in Latin America. Only two of the books touch on democracy directly, however all the books involve topics with interest for those concerned with democratic governance. This... Continue Reading →
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 Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. Grzegorz is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of... Continue Reading →
What are State-Mobilized Movements About ten years ago, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan turned academic attitudes about civil resistance as a political strategy on its head. They demonstrated civil resistance was more effective than violent civil wars at producing regime change. Further research has also shown it is more likely to lead to democratic outcomes.... Continue Reading →
Introduction Every week new books on democracy get published. Some literally change how scholars think about democracy, while others rehash ongoing debates. A few books do not discuss democracy, but have relevance for anybody seriously looking to understand democracy. This list covers 5 new books on democracy. I've only read one so far. In other... Continue Reading →
Susan Rose-Ackerman joins the podcast to discuss her new book Democracy and Executive Power: Policymaking Accountability in the US, the UK, Germany, and France. Susan is the Henry R. Luce Professor Emeritus of Law and Political Science at Yale University. Many of these things that you and I are talking about are simply initiatives put... Continue Reading →
Executive Power in Democracies Democratic theory rarely reflects on executive power or the administrative state. Deliberative theory, for example, emphasizes the legislative process where representatives have an opportunity to discuss and deliberate among each other. Of course, few people expect the civil service to deliberate before every email, phone call, or decision. It’s just not... Continue Reading →
