Hager Ali
Over recent weeks, Western pundits have been quick to claim recent events in Tunisia are evidence of a ‘failed democracy experiment’. But Hager Ali and Ameni Mehrez argue that the protests are more a testament to democratic resilience than failure Read more
Markus Pausch
Collecting the words of democracy like butterflies is a worthwhile endeavour. But it doesn't work without normative valuation and a democratic context. The butterflies are not only around us, but in us! And they need an intact environment to survive, writes Markus Pausch Read more
Maija Setälä
Democratic renewal demands openness to different understandings of democracy, and reflection on our preconceptions. Maija Setälä argues that it also requires analytical clarity and normative commitment Read more
Matthew Flinders
Launching this series, Jean-Paul Gagnon made the case for ‘a database of democracy’ to grasp the conceptual complexity that other theorists have, he suggests, generally skirted around. Matthew Flinders disputes whether a taxonomical approach really is the answer to the question ‘What is democracy?’ Read more
Hager Ali
Only a few months remain before elections in Libya. But Western policymakers are focusing on election preparations and the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries, to the neglect of other pressing matters. Hager Ali argues that unless Libya tackles its political and military problems, elections may prove little more than a sticking plaster on a bullet wound Read more
Luca Manucci
Luca Manucci, in a panoramic survey of the rise of illiberalism in our times, argues that this trend is feeding on authoritarian historical legacies and memories which are being rewritten before our eyes. It is an exercise all democrats should challenge, and resist Read more
Laurence Whitehead
Democracy may have different meanings in different cultures. Yet, writes Laurence Whitehead, the concept of democracy also operates at a universal level where users can communicate with each other across time and space Read more
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