Simon Bein
Simon Bein postulates a new perspective on the multiplicity of understandings of democracy and political identities in democratic societies. He argues that democracies which recognise and balance competing political identities are less polarised Read more
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
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
Alfred Moore
Liberal democracies protect our freedom to express our identities. But Alfred Moore argues that the rigidity and entrenchment of ‘identity wars’ reminds us of another vital aspect of democracy: the freedom from expressing our identity. Creating distance from the self can promote fluidity and dynamism, and help to overcome polarisation Read more
Paola Pierri
Social media has lured us all into a 'popularity trap'. We thought we were transforming democracy, but we are not. Paola Pierri makes the case for a politics of presence in the digital age. This, she argues, needs to advance the visibility of marginalised identities, not their popularity From popularity to visibility In our digital […] Read more
Dimitra Mareta
'Democracy is in crisis'. We have heard this claim since the 1930s, and new terms regularly surface to describe democracy’s transformations through crisis. Of these terms, argues Dimitra Mareta, post-democracy and authoritarian neo/liberalism are the most challenging. While they describe either a strong or weak state, neither term captures the implications for the people living under such regimes Read more
Catherine Eschle
In a new edited book, Catherine Eschle argues that protest camps are important spaces of feminist struggle. Here, she asks: are protest camps a site of 21st century feminist democracy? Read more
Alex Prior
Examining the first 99 entries in our Science of Democracy series, Alex Prior identifies an asymmetry between references to people (demos) and power (kratos). Through a discussion of this asymmetry and its possible causes, he calls for increased attention to power, in the sense of its ability to effect change Read more
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