Patrick Deneen is a Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame University. He is the author of Why Liberalism Failed and the forthcoming Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future. Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. By my reading of political philosophy every regime in a sense ultimately comes to an... Continue Reading →
Become a Patron! Hot Peace Perhaps the book Michael McFaul is most recognized for is From Cold War to Hot Peace. It's his personal memoir from his time as the American ambassador to Russia. But like I said on the podcast it also provides a chronicle of US-Russo relations during a time of transition. McFaul begins... Continue Reading →
In her most recent book, philosopher Chantal Mouffe imagines the potential for a leftist populism.Her book For a Left Populism strives to align her ideas of radical democracy through the vehicle of populism. Justin Kempf reflects on the nature of populism in the piece below. What is Populism? The irony of populism is it... Continue Reading →
I grew up outside the two-party system in the United States. As early as sixth grade, I rejected both political parties so I could support a third-party presidential candidate. Like most children, I followed my father’s direction who struggled with his own political identification. But for over a decade a large part of my identity... Continue Reading →
It is common to qualify democratic governance as not simply democracy but liberal democracy. This is natural because freedom has been associated with democracy dating back to the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. It is difficult to imagine an illiberal democracy which retained the foundations of democratic governance within an authoritarian or even totalitarian context.... Continue Reading →
There is a growing literature on the decline of democratic governance. Larry Diamond declared the world was in a democratic recession years ago and Freedom House has confirmed a long-term decline in democratic governance in their annual assessments. Of course, the literature has warned about a crisis of democracy in the past. Samuel Huntington cowrote... Continue Reading →
Theories about presidentialism remain in the shadow of the “Perils of Presidentialism” thesis from Juan Linz. But a lot has changed since he made the case against presidential systems. Governments in nearly every region of the world have adopted some form of Presidential system. Chaisty, Cheeseman and Power have written a work which uses contemporary... Continue Reading →
I will admit the title is a bit of a hyperbole. It grabs the reader’s attention, but it loses some credibility among intellectual readers. Fortunately, underneath the cover is a significant work of political thought. Steven Levitsky is a giant of political science who defined a new form of political regime along with Lucan Way... Continue Reading →
Before a complex topic like democracy can be mastered, it is necessary to understand elections. There is no other institution that has defined democracy like elections. There is no clearer way to understand majority sentiment than an election. And while democracy requires more than just the support of the majority, it is impossible to govern... Continue Reading →
In Democracy in America Tocqueville was amazed how average Americans not only participated in politics but consumed it regularly. Politics has long been the true American pastime. And it influences multiple aspects of American society. So, liberalism is not simply the dominant strain of American political thought. It is incorporated into multiple aspects of American... Continue Reading →
