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Political Theory

🦋 Shift happens: rethinking democracy research in times of crisis

August 14, 2025

Polarisation begins in political discourse, and that’s what makes it dangerous for democracy

August 7, 2025

🦋 The Science of Democracy and the limits of an uncompromisingly pluralist approach

August 1, 2025

Relational design for democracy and governance

July 25, 2025

🦋 What counts as democracy? A critical reflection on The Science of Democracy 2.0

July 24, 2025
July 15, 2025

🦋 Science of Democracy 2.0

Jean-Paul Gagnon To kickstart another round of essays, Jean-Paul Gagnon recaps four years’ worth of discussions in The Loop's Science of Democracy series. He explains where this ever-growing community of scholars has got to so far – and where it aims to go next Read more
April 25, 2025

The democratic purpose of social media: empowering civil society

Markus Patberg Many are calling for for reforms to social media platforms that will strengthen their democratic function. But to meaningfully reshape online platforms, we first need to determine their democratic purpose. Our goal, argues Markus Patberg, should be to empower civil society Read more
April 5, 2024

🦋 Critical Theory after Houellebecq

Shivdeep Grewal Feelings are relevant to the study of democracy. Yet they prove difficult to encapsulate. Delving into the worlds of Michel Houellebecq, Jürgen Habermas and Emmanuel Macron, Shivdeep Grewal suggests an ‘experiential’ approach Read more
February 23, 2024

Understanding democracy’s contentious outcomes as a legitimising force

Seema Shah Around the world, the quality of democracy – and support for it – is in decline. In this context, Seema Shah argues that the future legitimacy of the democratic model depends on the separation of democratic values from democratic procedures Read more
February 21, 2024

🔮 Populism research demands more nuance: enter tribalism

Ilana Hartikainen Tribalism has emerged as a key term in political discussions — often used, but not clearly defined. Ilana Hartikainen and Zea Szebeni propose reconceptualising ‘tribalism’ to differentiate forms of political mobilisation. Tribalism, they argue, forms exclusive groups around shared values — and it’s gone global Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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