Can Diverse Democracies Succeed?

The Great Experiment Americans, according to John Jay, were  “a people descended from the same ancestors speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs.” He believed American commonalities made self-governance possible. The sentiment was a bit of a stretch even in... Continue Reading →

Identity Formation in Political Theory

What is Identity? In recent years politics has become a contestation between different forms of identity rather than interests. Identity has an almost ideological connotation. It is easy to become lost in emotions and hyperbole without any awareness of its actual role in political theory. Indeed, the earliest political philosophers did not mention identity at... Continue Reading →

The Rule of Law and Institutional Hegemony

Distinguishing the Law from the State Few political theories take the time to distinguish between the law and the state. This is a catastrophic mistake. This oversight begins with a neglect to reflect on the nature of institutions, but it also involves a carelessness with early political history. Early modern political theory did meditate on... Continue Reading →

Rural Consciousness as Political Identity

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 →

Working Class Political Identities

Only in the last ten years have scholars begun to think of the working class as a political identity rather than simply an economic status. The thoughts below are the first on a series of posts based on political identity. Justin Kempf reflects on working class as a political identity through a reflection of Arlie Russell... Continue Reading →

Democracy Unfolds Through the Aesthetic Podcast #37

Kajri Jain joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss the relationship between democracy and the aesthetic. Her recent book Gods in the Time of Democracy explores the implications of the construction of large religious statues in India. The conversation explores ideas of the aesthetic, religion, Hindu Nationalism, Dalit identity, and the ways art shapes democracy.   We don't pay... Continue Reading →

Rest, Beloved: Biopower, Narrative, and Healing

Rest, Beloved is the work of Pyar Seth. Pyar is a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University in the Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies Program working at the nexus of Medical Anthropology and Political Science (Political Epidemiology). Broadly, he focuses on the history of Black Thought and the centuries-long struggle for the right to health in Black... Continue Reading →

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