Sort Articles

Political Theory

June 3, 2022

🦋 Science of Democracy and the Owl of Minerva

Petr Špecián The project of collecting democracy’s words has a quietist undertone. Petr Špecián argues that it provides a desirable counterweight to the activist urge to rethink and redesign the political order. Especially so in today’s challenging times Read more
May 30, 2022

🌊 To understand today's social and moral transformation, study illiberalism

Marlene Laruelle Using the lens of illiberalism, writes Marlene Laruelle, we can explore the emergence of a new rightist resistance to the current social and moral order. Illiberalism interacts on a permanent basis with liberalism, and is a byproduct of neoliberal ideologies Read more
May 25, 2022

🦋 For a more critical study of democracy

Marta Wojciechowska Jean-Paul Gagnon’s project involves the collection, labelling, and organisation of published words on democracy. He intends it to help democratic scientists to counter authoritarianism. But, argues Marta Wojciechowska, the project’s method may overlook issues of power involved in creating and publishing meanings of democracy Read more
May 18, 2022

🦋 Reimagining democracy, one word at a time

Andreas Avgousti Andreas Avgousti asserts that collecting democracy’s words gives us a window into the democratic imagination. He reads Jean-Paul Gagnon’s expanding database as an illustration of democratic virtues Read more
May 13, 2022

🦋 Recovering democratic possibilities in complex political systems

Antonin Lacelle-Webster Jean-Paul Gagnon’s ambitious project expands our democratic imaginaries. While inspiring, Antonin Lacelle-Webster argues that making sense of democracy requires more than a lexicon. Resisting the prevailing sense of disrepair in today’s democratic politics asks us to pay more attention to democracy's appropriation, design, and normative value Read more
May 12, 2022

St Augustine in the Anthropocene

Ruairidh Brown In our contemporary world, dangers frequently come not from external enemies but from our own behaviour. To provide moral guidance on these dangers and help overcome the externalisation of threat, Ruairidh Brown looks back through time to St Augustine Read more
May 11, 2022

♟️ Why we must understand civilian participation in military rule

Salah Ben Hammou Researchers of authoritarian politics and civil-military relations have long examined military rule. However, our understanding of civilian participation in military regimes remains limited and requires greater analytical attention, argues Salah Ben Hammou. Amid last year’s coup resurgence, researchers must move to appreciate the subtle but salient differences among military dictatorships Read more
May 6, 2022

♟️ Autocracies with adjectives: we need better typologies of authoritarian regimes

Hager Ali The study of regime types, Hager Ali argues, is imbalanced. Theories and concepts of democracy have received attention for decades. But amid the resurgence of autocracies, scholars of authoritarianism still do not have the luxury of nuanced typologies to dissect the broad spectrum of non-democratic regimes Read more

The Loop

Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
Read more
THE EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH
Advancing Political Science
© 2025 European Consortium for Political Research. The ECPR is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) number 1167403 ECPR, Harbour House, 6-8 Hythe Quay, Colchester, CO2 8JF, United Kingdom.
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram