Marsin Alshamary is a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative and nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. She is the author of the paper "Iraq’s Struggle for Democracy" in the Journal of Democracy. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. The... Continue Reading →
Become a Patron! Democracy on Autopilot Lately my mind regularly drifts to a quote from the new book from Dan Slater and Joseph Wong. They write, "Democracy doesn’t 'just happen' as a matter of course with a society’s modernization; rather, real people need to make risky decisions that have vital implications for democracy’s fate." It... Continue Reading →
Scott Mainwaring is the Eugene P. and Helen Conley Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a faculty fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, where he previously served as director for 13 years and is a current Advisory Board member. He is the coeditor (with Tarek Masoud)... Continue Reading →
Become a Patron! Is Every Democracy in a Hard Place? Democracies around the world face many threats. Some are new while others are old. Sometimes the threats reflect changing circumstances. However, others involve problems that have compounded over generations. Economic inequality, severe polarization, and poor governance threaten American democracy. Europe faces ongoing issues surrounding economic... Continue Reading →
Become a Patron! A Test for Democracy Everyday Ukraine serves as a testament to the power of human will. The Ukrainian people continue to meet their Russian aggressors in the battlefield. Lately a lot of the focus for those who follow the conflict closely is on the advances of Russian forces. But the Russian advance... Continue Reading →
Lucan Way is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He coauthored (along with Steven Levitsky) Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War. He has a new book also coauthored with Steven Levitsky due this fall called Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism. He is the author of... Continue Reading →
Become a Patron! Democratic Leadership Democracy has always had a complicated relationship with its leaders. For starters democracy is the one form of government where leaders are regularly cast aside. Winston Churchill navigated Great Britain through World War II, but his party lost power shortly before the war's conclusion. For many leadership itself is undemocratic.... Continue Reading →
Rachel Beatty Riedl is the John S. Knight Professor of International Studies, Director of the Einaudi Center for International Studies, and professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. She also cohosts the podcast Ufahamu Africa with Kim Yi Dionne. Her chapter "Africa’s Democratic Outliers Success amid Challenges in Benin and South Africa" appears... Continue Reading →
Ashutosh Varshney is the Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science at Brown University, where he also directs the Center for Contemporary South Asia. His chapter "India’s Democratic Longevity and Its Troubled Trajectory" appears in the forthcoming book Democracy in Hard Places. Become a Patron! Nehru is... Continue Reading →
Evan Lieberman is a Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Director of the MIT Global Diversity Lab, and the faculty director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). He is the coauthor with Rorisang Lekalake of the recent article "South Africa's Resilient Democracy" in the Journal... Continue Reading →
