Shari Davis explains the efforts of the Participatory Budgeting Project. Shari is the Executive Director of PBP and an Obama Fellow. Participatory budgeting is actually about connecting folks with the skills and resources to navigate and shape government. And so, for me, that is the most optimistic and the most important outcome of any... Continue Reading →
Ross Benes explains politics in rural Nebraska from his research and personal experience. His new book is Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold. The legislature is one of several examples of our history of being independent which is why I think it was such an important story to tell of Nebraska becoming like... Continue Reading →
Rural consciousness has redefined the nature of identity politics as it shifts the dominant political conflicts from class to place. This is the second part of a series on political identity and its place within democratic theory. Rural Communities in Political Conflicts The divide between those dependent on an agricultural economy and an industrial economy... Continue Reading →
Ryan Salzman joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss how placemaking shapes communities. His recent book Pop-Up Civics in 21st Century America explains how associational relationships have changed over the last twenty years through the creation of temporary institutions and activities. Ryan follows in the footsteps of Robert Putnam and Alexis de Tocqueville to explain how informal associations... Continue Reading →
The trajectory of each political party in the United States depends on a variety of factors. Some involve factors outside their control, but others involve decisions and strategies made over long periods of time. E.E. Schattschneider offered an important analysis of American politics in 1960 in his classic work The Semi-Sovereign People. Justin Kempf reflects on... Continue Reading →
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson have explored the evolution of the Republican Party in American politics for two decades. Their new book Let them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality explains the strange alliance between the affluent and working class white Americans into an ideology they describe as plutocratic populism.... Continue Reading →
Lee Drutman joins the Democracy Paradox to make his case for multiparty democracy in the United States. Lee is a Senior Fellow in the Political Reform Program at New America. He discusses his most recent book Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop. Why Multiparty Democracy Madison’s Federalist 10 makes an unusual case. He argued the size... Continue Reading →
William Howell and Terry Moe join the Democracy Paradox to discuss the missed opportunities of the American Presidency. This is the 20th episode of the Democracy Paradox podcast. It offers a reflection on the role of the President days before the 2020 Election in the United States. William Howell and Terry Moe... Continue Reading →
John Matsusaki joins the Democracy Paradox to make the case for National Referendums. He is the Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise at the University of Southern California and the author of Let the People Rule: How Direct Democracy Can Meet the Populist Challenge An Absence of National Referendums The United States has... Continue Reading →
Don Kettl joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss the challenges of American federalism. He is the Sid Richardson Professor at the LBJ School, specializing in public management and public policy and the author of the book The Divided States of America: Why Federalism Doesn't Work. Why Federalism Remains Relevant Federalism has become marginalized in... Continue Reading →
