How Democracies Die

by | Jun 6, 2021 | Democracy, Europe

David Smith at The Guardian: “There was a momentary sigh of relief but the level of anxiety is actually strangely higher now than in 2016 in the sense that it’s not just about one person but there are broader structural issues,” said Daniel Ziblatt, co-author of How...

Listening to One Another

by | May 28, 2021 | Deliberation, Democracy

 At The Harvard Gazette, Liz Mineo talks to Jane Mansbridge: GAZETTE: How might we get citizens who are so polarized to listen to one another? MANSBRIDGE: One proven practice is the technique of citizens’ assemblies or deliberative polls. These are groups of citizens...

The Struggle for Democracy

by | May 13, 2021 | Democracy

Martin Wolf at The Financial Times: The fact that Trump is lying is not news. What is news is that, even shorn of public office, Trump defines the truth for his party. There is a word for a political organisation in which the prime duty of members is absolute loyalty...

Sectarianism v. Civility

by | Apr 20, 2021 | Civility, Democracy, Polarization, Public Opinion

Nate Cohn at NYT: This threat to democracy has a name: sectarianism. It’s not a term usually used in discussions about American politics. It’s better known in the context of religious sectarianism — like the hostility between Sunnis and Shia in Iraq. Yet a growing...

Supporting Democracy Abroad

by | Apr 14, 2021 | Democracy

Jan. 6 put American democratic weaknesses on display, and some critics quickly began to claim that America should no longer advocate for democracy abroad. Bush Institute Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow Nicole Bibbins Sedaca sits down with Christopher Walsh, the Bush...