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February 22, 2022

🌊 The authoritarian consolidation attempt in Turkey

Görkem Altınörs Görkem Altınörs and Ümit Akçay analyse the political economy of regime change in Turkey. The AKP's 'authoritarian fix' strategy was a response to multiple crises in the 2010s. Now, it has led to an attempt at authoritarian consolidation Read more

February 21, 2022

Why Catalan pro-independence parties want their own state

Anwen Elias Many assume that pro-independence parties want their own state because they believe the state has treated their territory unfairly. Anwen Elias and Núria Franco-Guillén argue that Catalan independentists also want independence to improve democracy and create a fairer, more prosperous society Read more

February 17, 2022

🦋 A plea for pluralism in the study of democracy

Eva Krick Eva Krick is sympathetic to Gagnon’s collection of ‘democracies with adjectives’ but does not fully share his optimism that this will finally make us grasp democracy’s ‘total texture’. It is but one little building block of an infinite and eclectic science of democracy. Read more

February 16, 2022

Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent democratic theory

Ramin Jahanbegloo Ramin Jahanbegloo explores how Mahatma Gandhi’s non-western democratic theory prescribes empathetic emancipation through nonviolent action. Gandhi sought to bring about a truly democratic transformation of society, thereby securing an ethical social order Read more

February 14, 2022

What drives public acceptance of expert agencies?

Trym Nohr Fjørtoft Have we had enough of experts? Covid-19 revealed how expertise doesn't necessarily translate into public acceptance of the right to make decisions in the public interest. Trym Nohr Fjørtoft and Asimina Michailidou explore the conditions under which expert agencies secure public legitimacy. Their conclusion? It's about striking the right balance Read more

February 9, 2022

Can citizens’ assemblies save our ailing democracies?

Colm Walsh Experimentation with citizens' assemblies is flourishing throughout the world. Using Ireland as a case study, Colm D. Walsh finds that, while these assemblies offer democracy great promise and have strong citizen support, ensuring equal participation in them remains a challenge Read more

February 2, 2022

State-building prior to democratisation does not enhance economic development

Haakon Gjerløw In a new book, Haakon Gjerløw, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Tore Wig and Matthew C. Wilson challenge conventional wisdom. Building state institutions before democratisation does not help long-term economic development, after all Read more

January 29, 2022

🦋 A rigorous debate on intra-disciplinary boundaries and democracy

Gergana Dimova In the 🦋 Science of Democracy series, Jean-Paul Gagnon has started an intra-disciplinary debate between democratic theory and comparative politics. The reasons to overcome this disciplinary clash are better than the reasons to embrace it, writes Gergana Dimova Read more

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