Become a Patron! The Nested Games of Brexit It's typical to talk about a political calculus, but less common to think about politics like calculus. A common misconception about politicians is they care about public opinion. This is a half-truth. They do care about what voters think, but they don't care about the totality of... Continue Reading →
Martin Conway is the author of the new book Western Europe’s Democratic Age: 1945—1968 and a Professor of Contemporary European History at the University of Oxford. Where you and I and, I think, many others start from an assumption that somehow there is a thing called democracy and we sort of know what it is.... Continue Reading →
Western Europe's Democratic Age Over the last few years it has almost become cliché to refer to the democratic recession. Many of the most fragile democracies have reversed or even collapsed. Among the most recent involves the collapse of the government in Afghanistan due to the withdrawal of American troops. The experience serves as a... Continue Reading →
Michael Hughes explains the history of democracy in Germany. Michael is a professor of history at Wake Forest University. He discusses his most recent book Embracing Democracy in Germany: Political Citizenship and Participation, 1871-2000. A History of Democracy in Germany The German Question haunted international relations for generations. Like China, it was... Continue Reading →
Political science uses Viktor Orbán as a caricature. He is thrown around as a stock example of democratic subversion. The criticism is warranted but few political scientists have gone beyond surface level analysis to understand The Orbán Regime in Hungary. It is not enough to laundry list the undesirable policies and laws his government have... Continue Reading →
Political parties remind me of religious denominations. I was born a Catholic and have found it difficult to identify with other religions even when their theological principles are a closer fit to my beliefs. Indeed, it is impossible for me to reconcile every tenet of the Catholic faith with my personal philosophy. But it is... Continue Reading →
The assemblies of 15-M and Occupy Wall Street were different from past mass movements or protests. They introduced mass public assemblies that offered an alternate vision of democracy based along a horizontal organizing logic. The assemblies were so large people used hand signals to communicate. And despite their numbers they were committed to the establishment... Continue Reading →
The end of the Cold War marked the clear end of a political era. As the Second World War ended, it became evident there was a tension between the American and Soviet world views. The collapse of the Soviet Union represented a clear victory for the American perspective. Democracy and capitalism became central to the... Continue Reading →
