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
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
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
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
Frank Hendriks
Jean-Paul Gagnon takes biology as a model but overlooks that it is driven by variation as well as selection. The study of it, therefore, is sensitive to both. The study of democracy and innovation must be too, asserts Frank Hendriks Read more
Benjamin Abrams
Democracy is in danger, and autocrats are becoming bolder and bolder. Benjamin Abrams argues that our failure to understand democracy stops us from effectively defending it. To protect democracy, we need to understand what it means, what kind we have, and what it can become Read more
Rikki Dean
Jean-Paul Gagnon has amassed over 4,000 ‘linguistic artefacts’ into a data mountain of descriptions of democracy. Yet, notes Rikki Dean, a sustained consideration of these linguistic artefacts as language is missing from his Science of Democracy and its responses. Words do not only describe, they also deceive and denounce Read more
Ernesto Cruz Ruiz
Ernesto Cruz Ruiz argues that a Jean-Paul Gagnon’s democracy ‘data mountain’ will be of limited value if democracy is not also understood as a living entity which has evolved over time according to the impact of different environmental factors. To do this, he proposes a 'specimen drawer’ Read more
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
