Become a Patron! Conspiracy Theories Thrive in Democracies Moisés Naím describes a new authoritarian figure in his most recent book, The Revenge of Power. He refers to the 3P autocrat who relies on populism, polarization, and post-truth. Post-truth is an ambiguous term, but came into vogue with the ascendance of Donald Trump. He thrived on misinformation... Continue Reading →
Karen Greenberg joins the podcast to discuss how the subtle tools threaten American democracy. Karen is the director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law, a fellow at New America, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her new book is Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War... Continue Reading →
The War on Terror The War in Afghanistan came to a close last week. Its legacy is complicated. Many who opposed the invasion of Iraq supported the invasion of Afghanistan. Its mission was more closely identified with the War on Terror. Nonetheless, its purpose lost focus over twenty years as it became known as America’s... Continue Reading →
Potemkin Villages Catherine the Great had many lovers. Grigory Orlov led the coup d’état that brought Catherine to power. Stanisław Poniatowski became the last King of Poland. Prince Zubov, the last of her lovers, was forty years younger than her. Some of them played a part in the governance of Russia, while others merely amused... Continue Reading →
Jan-Werner Müller joins the podcast to discuss his new book Democracy Rules. He is a professor of social sciences at Princeton University and the author of the well-known book What is Populism? It really matters how you set up conflict and how you talk about the issue and above all how you talk about your adversary.... Continue Reading →
Norms and Institutions The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) became law in 1996. It refused to recognize same-sex marriages at the federal level and allowed states to ignore marriage contracts between same-sex couples from other states. The law was never repealed, but was effectively overturned after the Supreme Court Decision Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.... 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 →
