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political theory

July 29, 2021

Political institutions in authoritarian regimes may look democratic, but they reinforce the rulers’ power base

Zeynep Menteşoğlu Tardivo Zeynep Mentesoglu Tardivo analyses the role played by nominally democratic political institutions in authoritarian regimes. She argues that rulers design such institutions to consolidate their power base, even at the cost of economic and political development Read more
July 28, 2021

🦋 Making sense of democracy – not without the demos!

Hans Asenbaum How can we capture the many meanings of democracy? We need to critically reflect on who produces knowledge about democracy, argues Hans Asenbaum. People outside academia must play a central role in democratic theorising Read more
July 23, 2021

🦋 If democracy is hard to love, how can we teach it?

Kei Nishiyama Teaching democracy is hard work, precisely because we are living in a time when democracy is in crisis. So what should we teach, and how? Kei Nishiyama suggests that a grassroots, bottom-up approach involving teachers and learners alike will help us gain ownership of democracy – and fall back in love with it Read more
July 13, 2021

🦋 Rescuing an abandoned science: the lexicon of democracy

Jean-Paul Gagnon For centuries democracy has had many meanings. But they have not been collected and studied as a whole. This leaves us, Jean-Paul Gagnon argues, with only a partial knowledge of democracy. It's one that limits our options for democratisation in an increasingly authoritarian world Read more
June 30, 2021

Playing the long game: why democracy is good for business

Carl Henrik Knutsen Even today, there is no consensus on whether democracies or autocracies are better at generating economic development. Yet, writes Carl Henrik Knutsen, the best recent evidence indicates that democracies do, on average, promote higher growth Read more
June 10, 2021

Dictators beware! Creating nominally democratic institutions won’t prevent your overthrow

Jun Koga Sudduth Does the creation of nominally democratic institutions help dictators stay in power by reducing the risk of coups d’etat? Jun Koga Sudduth analyses and categorises different types of coup, and their effects. In so doing, she confounds the conventional wisdom that democratic institutions reduce the likelihood of dictators being overthrown Read more
June 2, 2021

What is at stake in the Scottish National Party’s request for a second referendum

Ruairidh Brown The Kenmure Street protest in Glasgow raises crucial issues concerning political obligation in Scotland, writes Ruairidh Brown. This should serve as a warning to Westminster about the potential dangers of denying a second independence referendum Read more
December 2, 2020

Is friendship the most important solution to the Covid-19 pandemic?

Ruairidh Brown The pandemic has revealed the importance of civic solidarity and public trust, writes Ruairidh Brown. But they function best in a context of ‘friendship', a concept which needs to be recognised as central to political thinking in a post-Covid world Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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