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
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
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
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
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
Adrian Smith
New digital platforms for citizens' initiatives, such as Decidim, are becoming more popular. Adrian Smith and Pedro Prieto MartÃn 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
Titus Alexander
Most political science is like anatomy, analysing the body politic without healing it. Titus Alexander argues that we can learn from health sciences and create a manifesto, like that of The Lancet, to prioritise improving lives and launch a global mission to strengthen democracy Read more
Rongxin Li
An orthodoxy in conventional democratic theory says that voting is all that really matters. Rongxin Li challenges the prominence of electoralism and majoritarianism in representative democratic practice. He argues that consultative democracy confers far more legitimacy on a decision than voting ever can or will Read more
