Toralf Stark
Toralf Stark, Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann and Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach elaborate on their proposal for a global concept of democracy. To do so, they move away from the institutional perspective to identify a normative good of democracy, which they refer to as the singular core principle – political self-efficacy. Read more
Lasse Thomassen
How should we interpret what happened on 6 January 2021 at the Capitol? Lasse Thomassen argues that, while populists like Trump may threaten democracy, we cannot simply dismiss populism and the populist mob without taking something away from it that we value: its inherent openness Read more
John Capps
Democracy comes in lots of different flavours. How do we make sense of this? Is having all these meanings a feature or a bug? John Capps suggests that the idea of 'open texture' can help us better understand democratic theory and practice Read more
Erica Dorn
Democracy today is a colonial artefact tied to violent borders. Moreover, it produces an increasing number of non-citizens, unable to participate in democracy where they live. Erica Dorn and Federico Vaz argue that Gagnon's courageous enquiry into defining the historical landscape of democracy can bring more equity to its current – unjust – paradigm Read more
Svend-Erik Skaaning
Many observers say that democracy has undergone a large-scale global decline in recent decades. However, presenting evidence differently leads us to different conclusions. This calls for increased caution and reflection among those discussing democratic trends, writes Svend-Erik Skaaning Read more
Ramon van der Does
Jean-Paul Gagnon views the construction of a taxonomy of democracy as a key way to address challenges to democracy. Yet, argues Ramon van der Does, such fundamental research is a luxury we cannot afford if we seek to be effective in bringing power to the people. Read more
Stefano Braghiroli
Stefano Braghiroli and Andrey Makarychev chart a change in the Estonian National Conservative Party (EKRE). Lately, it has appealed for the first time to Russian-speaking minorities – an attempt at a similar process to the League’s transformation into a national party in Italy. Unlike the Lega, though, they face the obstacle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Read more
Jamie Shenk
Colombian voters rejected the political establishment, voting 'outsider' politicians into the run-off for the Colombian presidency. However, understanding who didn’t vote in Colombia’s election tells us more about the state of Colombia’s democracy, writes Jamie Shenk Read more