By David Cortright War in Iraq Twenty years ago this month, millions of people in Europe, the United States and on every continent took to the streets to oppose the dangers and likely human cost of invading Iraq. It was the largest antiwar movement in history. Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft warned that war... Continue Reading →
By Chris Walsh Originally published in the George W. Bush Presidential Center blog here. Republished with their permission. Democracy: The More Boring, the Better Democracy is an awesome system of governance, but it should be mostly dull in practice. “Democracy doesn’t look like a giant crowd shouting its demands through bullhorns,” The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg... Continue Reading →
Lynette Ong is a professor of political science at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She is the author of the recent book Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China. Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. The state is able to... Continue Reading →
by Justin Kempf Undemocratic Political Mobilization Nothing is more democratic than the popular participation of its citizens. Indeed, democratic regimes institutionalize political mobilization through elections where popular participation is widespread and encouraged. However, political mobilization is not always democratic. Some politicians mobilize their supporters to instill fear in their opponents. People may mobilize against other... Continue Reading →
By Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of Middle East Studies Forum, Deakin University. He is the author of Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone. You can follow him on Twitter at @S_Akbarzadeh Widespread protests against the ruling regime in Iran have raised serious questions about the future. Will the regime survive this popular expression of dissent?... Continue Reading →
Neil DeVotta is professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University. His article "Sri Lanka's Agony" was published in this July's issue of Journal of Democracy. Become a Patron! As long as people are able to cast their ballot, irrespective of the illiberalism, irrespective of all these other shortcomings, democracy, at least from... 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 →
Recent scholarship on Democracy has become obsessed with topics related to free expression especially related to online mediums. The digital revolution has expanded not just access to information, but the ways people communicate and express themselves. It has transformed political dissent and propaganda in ways nobody expected twenty years ago when everyone first recognized the... Continue Reading →
