Vladimir Bortun
Some of the most successful radical left parties of the past decade are not really radical, argues Vladimir Bortun. These parties do not display the anti-capitalism that defines the radical left, but rather a socio-economic agenda akin to post-WWII social democracy. Labelling this neo-reformist left 'radical' is deeply problematic, conceptually and politically Read more
Jennifer Greiman
Herman Melville’s 'ruthless democracy' is a creative performance, argues Jennifer Greiman, which guides Melville’s experimental prose and poetry. This sought to reimagine democratic relations, possibilities, and ways of being as matters for aesthetic thought and work – with strong implications for political theory Read more
Ana Mar Fernández PasarÃn
Ana Mar Fernández PasarÃn and Asbel Bohigues continue the Loop's coverage of Spain's 23 July general election, analysing the results and the (im)possible parliamentary alliances. They highlight that the left has a chance to continue in government but that a repetition of the election is not implausible Read more
Sonia Alonso Sáenz de Oger
After Spain’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, the national right parties won more seats, but the left parties have a better chance of governing. Sonia Alonso and Bonnie N. Field examine the territorial and national identity divisions that will make or break governance Read more
Simon Bienstman
Income inequality threatens democracy by depressing trust in political institutions. To better understand why, Simon Bienstman, Svenja Hense, and Markus Gangl argue that we should pay attention to inequality’s negative effect on citizens’ evaluations of the democratic process Read more
Michael Bauer
Populists have risen to executive office worldwide. In this context, Michael W. Bauer argues, we must pay more systematic attention to threats to the state and its institutions; the potential long-term impacts of the damage that populist governments can inflict 'from within' are potentially devastating Read more
Andrea Cassani
Following years of uncertainty, Senegal’s President Macky Sall has announced he will not run for a third term in 2024. Andrea Cassani, Tiziana Corda, and Giovanni Carbone consider Sall's decision less unexpected than it would have been some years ago. They discuss how term-limit politics could influence democracy and development across Africa Read more
Janusz Ruszkowski
The most important thing for democracy is to establish a catalogue of its constant, repeatable and inalienable features – the so-called DNA of democracy. Such a DNA code could no longer be manipulated or diluted, because nothing without it could be called democracy, writes Janusz Ruszkowski Read more
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