Democracy Paradox
Is it possible for a democracy to govern undemocratically? Can the people elect an undemocratic leader? Is it possible for democracy to bring about authoritarianism? And if so, what does this say about democracy? My name is Justin Kempf. Every week I talk to the brightest minds on subjects like international relations, political theory, and history to explore democracy from every conceivable angle. Topics like civil resistance, authoritarian successor parties, and the autocratic middle class challenge our ideas about democracy. Join me as we unravel new topics every week.
Episodes
We've often compared democratic national security and autocratic security making in terms of autocratic elites and democratic voters. My argument is not that all democracies are the same, but I do think we ought to be thinking about autocratic elites and democratic elites and voters.
Elizabeth Saunders
Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu
I think we've seen democracies can be unstable. Autocracies are even more unstable.
David Moss
Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu
March 24th, 1976 is the coup and it unleashes wild celebrations in establishment Argentina and almost no opposition.... Of course, this unleashed the most ruthless dictatorship in Argentina's history and in recent South American history as well.
Scott Mainwaring
Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Get your copy of When Democracy Breaks or read it open access.
There's a fog of democratic breakdown where really you cannot see the actual impact of your choices or your actions until after the fact.
Louise Young
Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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What strikes me about that period is that democracy was not inevitable.
Federica Carugati
Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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I think that if you got rid of the Electoral College, in the short run, there would be losers. But it hasn't always been the same group and it hasn't always been the same party.
Alexander Keyssar
Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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You actually have to fight in every generation, if you want to preserve liberalism. It's not just going to preserve itself. It's not just the end of history. It isn't just the final resting place of humanity - not by any stretch of the imagination. It's a continual struggle.
Robert Kagan
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People in Congress are leaders in their communities and people in some parts of this country are, in my opinion, being led astray.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill
This episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy
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What does it mean to empower women politically in a context in which the dominant party is engaged in democratic backsliding or other forms of illiberal and exclusionary politics? Would you still want more women to be part of that party?
Saskia Brechenmacher
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We have to reconstruct the foundations of our democracy, building on the past, not repudiating everything we're building on it.
Bruce Ackerman
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Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Le...
We thought we were strengthening the militaries in the Cold War. In fact, the political effects of those strengthened militaries ended up leading to a longer-term deterioration and instability.
Adam Casey
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We have to care more about truth than tribe. We have to care more about each other than about profit.
Barbara McQuade
This episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy
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Whoever you vote for, Biden or Trump at this point, you are voting for a radically different vision of American foreign policy.
Alexander Ward
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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu
Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn m...
All this stuff about half of America just won't listen to this. You're just not trying. You're just not trying. I fear in America people don't try to reach people in echo chambers.
Peter Pomerantsev
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Without an elected government, without a government that truly represents... a lot of things are imperiled - rights, democracy, freedom, certainly peace. I think that's another kind of challenge as we go into this year of widespread elections. It's not just about preserving democracy. It's also laying the foundation for peace.
Yana Gorokhovskaia
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As a writer I had the space to try to humanize him without sanitizing him. That was my mission: to try to see the world from behind his eyes in order to explain his otherwise inexplicable behavior.
Steve Coll
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Re...
Written into the DNA of American immigration policy, which we tend to regard as a kind of domestic policy - and which in many ways it is - has to do with US foreign policy.
Jonathan Blitzer
This episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy.
Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu
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I think a powerful surveillance apparatus will continue to be a major obstacle to the development of democratic forces, but it will not be the decisive factor.
Minxin Pei
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As democracy promoters, we also need to pay a lot of attention to the material needs of people... When these material needs are not satisfied, people will be more willing to give nondemocratic forms a chance.
Adem Abebe
This episode was made in partnership with the Constitution Building Programme at International IDEA
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Poland will be showing us the endless ingenuity of constitutional thinkers who are genuinely committed to democracy in its many forms.
Tomás Daly
This episode was made in partnership with the Constitution Building Programme at International IDEA
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