Become a Patron! Representation and Democracy Perhaps the most widely cited book on democracy is Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition by Robert Dahl. Despite its widespread influence in the literature on democracy, very few writers refer to polyarchy. Instead, it’s become replaced with the more common term liberal democracy. Of course, I’m aware some find a... Continue Reading →
Bilal Baloch is the Co-Founder and COO of Enquire, formerly GlobalWonks. He is also a non-resident visiting scholar at the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of When Ideas Matter: Democracy and Corruption in India. We have core ideas that form a part of our worldview, but... Continue Reading →
Ideas and Political Decisions Political science almost always falls back into discussions of institutions and interests. The human element gets extracted from serious research, because it does not fit well into statistical analysis or spatial models. Instead, ideas and opinions become diminished into political interests. In other words, scholars largely assume ideologies do not evolve... Continue Reading →
Robert C. Lieberman is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. Kenneth M. Roberts is the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government and Binenkorb Director of Latin American Studies at Cornell University. David A. Bateman is an associate professor in the Government Department at Cornell University. Robert and Kenneth (along with Suzanne... Continue Reading →
Democratic Resilience? As I type these thoughts, my mind wanders to events from last year. The assault on the capitol surpassed the greatest fears of many including myself. Some will note the Republic did not fall. The election was ultimately respected and upheld. Yet, very few thought the collapse of American Democracy was a realistic... Continue Reading →
Introduction Elizabeth Economy's The World According to China headlines this week's list of new democracy books. Other titles also include works on Latin American politics, Renaissance History, and American History. Zeynep Pamuk, this week's guest on the podcast, also receives an obvious mention. Make sure to check out the podcast for a conversation where we discuss her pathbreaking... Continue Reading →
Zeynep Pamuk is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego and the author of the book Politics and Expertise: How to Use Science in a Democratic Society. Science is never offering the whole truth. It may be offering us something accurate. Scientific findings may be reliable for... Continue Reading →
Science in a Democracy In the classic work Democracy and its Critics, Robert Dahl said Plato made the most compelling case against democracy. Most of us recall Plato imagined a republic where a philosopher king ruled over an orderly utopia. For most of us it’s difficult to take seriously the idea of a philosopher king... Continue Reading →
Introduction This week's latest books on democracy include works on conspiracy, Russian history, American Politics, and comparative politics. but the headliner is Danielle Allen's Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus. It's not the first political book on the pandemic, but it's the first I've taken seriously so far. I've included brief descriptions about the books, but... Continue Reading →
Caitlin Andrews-Lee is an Assistant Professor in Ryerson University’s Department of Politics and Public Administration. She is the author of the book, The Emergence and Revival of Charismatic Movements: Argentine Peronism and Venezuelan Chavismo. Charismatic leaders who are intent on governing solely using their charismatic authority and subverting other things to their personal power... Continue Reading →
