Sort Articles

Political Theory

March 13, 2023

🦋 The merits of consultative democracy

Rongxin Li An orthodoxy in conventional democratic theory says that voting is all that really matters. Rongxin Li challenges the prominence of electoralism and majoritarianism in representative democratic practice. He argues that consultative democracy confers far more legitimacy on a decision than voting ever can or will Read more

March 3, 2023

🦋 Democracy as dissent: lessons from outside the West

Nojang Khatami There are good reasons to consider resistance a central element in any definition of democracy. Nojang Khatami invites us to look outside familiar Western experiences for resources of dissent Read more

February 27, 2023

🦋 Actualised democracy and the challenge of becoming the democratic citizens it needs

Fathali M. Moghaddam Fathali M. Moghaddam puts forward a picture of 'actualised democracy' aimed at the equal participation of every person in all public decision-making. For it to succeed, today’s citizens need upskilling into 'democratic citizens' Read more

February 20, 2023

🦋 We must not sacrifice the essence of democracy on the altar of limitless conceptual pluralism

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

February 9, 2023

🦋 Democracy’s 'things' should be added to the data mountain of democracy

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

January 23, 2023

🦋 Making the case for administrative democracy

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

December 27, 2022

🦋 Democracy’s total texture and the search for its narrative truth

Simone Belko Simone Belko invites us to imagine research into democracy as an 'artful science'. Without mediation by experts or representatives, but only through open civic intelligence, we can together determine the total texture of democracy from the bottom up. This self-referential poetics has the potential to define democracy in still untold ways Read more

December 21, 2022

To achieve organisational change, think outside the box

Igor Ahedo Gurrutxaga Igor Ahedo Gurrutxaga uses a puzzle to achieve organisational change in public institutions. Solving the puzzle seems difficult, because it requires us to think outside the box. Yet the answer can serve as a metaphor for the need to change an organisation’s attitude Read more

The Loop

Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.