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Democracy

March 22, 2023

💊 How lobbying regulation can make democracy work better

Alberto Bitonti Lobbying regulation is an area where political scientists can help strengthen democracy. We usually analyse the effects of existing regulations, and see why, where, and how they are implemented. But Alberto Bitonti argues we can do much more, helping regulators fix loopholes and understand what they really should aim for Read more
March 22, 2023

♟️ The resistance playbook: disrupting autocratisation

Luca Tomini Resistance to autocratisation is not limited to democracies. In fact, Luca Tomini, Suzan Gibril, and Venelin Bochev demonstrate that the main actors resisting autocratisation and their strategies vary across regime types. Analysing resistance strategies from democracy to fully authoritarian regimes can be invaluable beyond academia to practitioners and activists Read more
March 21, 2023

🦋 'Rationalising democracy': explaining a common logic

Suthan Krishnarajan Why do people committed to democracy explicitly support undemocratic behaviour by their politicians? Suthan Krishnarajan argues that it all comes down to perception. Sometimes, politicians establish policies that attract widespread support, but they do so in an undemocratic fashion. Citizens then 'rationalise democracy' to reassure themselves that politicians are indeed acting in their best interests Read more
March 17, 2023

💊 What student government can teach us about democracy

Justin Patrick As student governments experience decline and collapse in the twenty-first century, their importance in contemporary political life should not be underestimated. They serve as valuable resources for political scientists looking to understand democracy at fundamental levels. Justin Patrick argues that we should take them seriously in research and practice Read more
March 16, 2023

Politicians must share deliberative power to increase legitimacy

Anne Nygaard Jedzini The threat of sanctions or coercive power is key to how governments make public good outcomes. To increase the legitimacy of coercive power and address illegitimate forms of power such as control and corruption, Anne Nygaard Jedzini argues that politicians need to share power with citizens through deliberation Read more
March 16, 2023

🦋 Let’s tell a more contextual story about Minben

Li-Chia Lo Li-Chia Lo revisits Rongxin Li’s essay on the Confucian concept of Minben (people-core/root) to offer more context to the concept and to differentiate it from the Chinese concept of Minzhu (people-master). Lo argues that both concepts are different, and we should not elide them Read more
March 15, 2023

🌈  The effects of autocratisation on women’s rights: a contradictory picture

Aili Mari Tripp Autocratising governments in countries from Hungary to Turkey and Russia are eroding women’s rights. While this is indeed a worrying trend, Aili Mari Tripp argues we must consider that autocratisation looks different depending on a country’s historical legacies and geopolitical situation. This influences the types of women’s rights a regime might seek to undo Read more
March 14, 2023

💊 Decidim: why digital tools for democracy need to be developed democratically

Adrian Smith New digital platforms for citizens' initiatives, such as Decidim, are becoming more popular. Adrian Smith and Pedro Prieto Martín argue that while the technology may not be developed in a democratic way, such instruments can develop into tools for democracy in today’s digital societies Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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