Anastasia Deligiaouri
Anastasia Deligiaouri argues that we should be wary of allowing incompatible concepts – such as 'illiberal democracy' – to dilute democracy’s essence. Rather, we must unravel and expunge the demons that lurk in democracies. By so doing, we will ensure this pluralism does not serve or fulfil autocratic desires Read more
Diogo Vieira Ferreira
European (transnational) political parties have suffered from a lack of political influence in the European Union. Diogo Vieira Ferreira argues that dealing with the EU’s democratic deficit requires higher political (party) competition at the EU level. The direct suffrage of MEPs via transnational lists is an embryonic but required step Read more
Hilary Gopnik
A community’s material things can be active participants in the democratic process. Hilary Gopnik argues that the inclusion of materiality in Jean-Paul Gagnon’s science of democracy will broaden the range of the inquiry and deepen the texture recovered Read more
Stephen P. Turner
Stephen Turner argues that for democracy to prevail, we must transform the vague idea of 'the will of the people' into legal procedure. This issue is more important than ever in situations where bureaucracies, such as those of the United States, are suffocating democratic action Read more
Rafael Labanino
Illiberal governments in Central and Eastern Europe are following a conscious strategy of hollowing out interest representation and stifling or co-opting civil society organisations. Rafael Labanino explains how the authoritarian playbook works – and how interest groups adapt or fight back Read more
Łukasz Wordliczek
Democratic malaise, deconsolidation, backsliding, illiberalism, decline, erosion, rupture, decay, or simply: crisis. This 'conceptual bazaar' shows that democracy does not necessarily keep up with today’s challenges. Łukasz Wordliczek suggests three possible remedies Read more
Seema Shah
Seema Shah argues for putting the lived experiences of historically marginalised communities at the centre of democracy measurement. By doing so, she says, we can meaningfully reshape our understanding of democracy as a practice Read more
Abbey Heffer
Authoritarian regimes are not centralised monoliths. In China, authoritarian responses to protest can differ dramatically across localities. Abbey Heffer argues that research on regime-level authoritarianism often overlooks decentralisation. Studying aspects of authoritarianism, such as protest repression and concessions, requires a practice-based approach that reconciles national and localised authoritarianism Read more
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