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Political Theory

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
January 15, 2024

🎭 Making identity politics less personal

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
January 2, 2024

🎭 Democratic transformation through visibility, not popularity!

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
November 23, 2023

🦋 Is it post-democracy; or maybe authoritarian neo/liberalism?

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
October 13, 2023

🦋 Feminism in protest camps: toward a 21st century feminist democracy?

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
September 28, 2023

🦋 What we (don’t) talk about when we talk about democracy

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
September 6, 2023

🔮 Populism: left or right?

Dani Filc Are populist movements necessarily left or right? Dani Filc argues that populism is too complex a phenomenon to easily fit easily into the conventional political dimensions of left and right Read more
August 31, 2023

🦋 Mnemonic democracy: the role of memory in politics

Jenny Wüstenberg Memory is crucial for democracy, but not only because it can teach citizens important norms like tolerance and inclusion. Mnemonic democracy would also mean taking into account whether the views of the majority are represented and public memory is underpinned by legitimate state power, Jenny Wüstenberg writes Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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