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Democracy Paradox

Justin Kempf

Is it possible for a democracy to govern undemocratically? Can the people elect an undemocratic leader? Is it possible for democracy to bring about authoritarianism? And if so, what does this say about democracy? ​​My name is Justin Kempf. Every week I talk to the brightest minds on subjects like international relations, political theory, and history to explore democracy from every conceivable angle. Topics like civil resistance, authoritarian successor parties, and the autocratic middle class challenge our ideas about democracy. Join me as we unravel new topics every week.

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Episodes235

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  • Oct 3, 2023 · 49 min

    Yascha Mounk Warns Against a Misguided New Ideology

    I really do think that what we've witnessed over the last decades is the emergence of a new ideology that is meaningfully distinct... I think it really is meaningfully distinct from other forms of what is meant to be left wing in the past from other ideological traditions. Yascha Mounk Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He’s a writer for The Atlantic, founder of the online magazine Persuassion, and host of the podcast The Good Fight. He is the author of The People vs Democracy, The Great Experiment, and The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:51 Values and Beliefs - 3:15 Higher Education - 13:56 Identity - 22:34 Differences from Marxism - 37:21 Key Links The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time by Yascha Mounk The Great Experiment: How to Make Diverse Democracies Work by Yascha Mounk The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It by Yascha Mounk Democracy Paradox Podcast Yascha Mounk on the Great Experiment of Diverse Democracies Francis Fukuyama Responds to Liberalism’s Discontents More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Sep 26, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min

    Heather Cox Richardson on History, Conservatism, and the Awakening of American Democracy

    It would be a lovely thing if before I die, I get to see a younger generation reclaim democracy and rebuild it in a new, more expansive way. Heather Cox Richardson Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Heather Cox Richardson is a Professor of History at Boston College. Her daily newsletter Letters from an American is read by millions. She has a new book out as of today called Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:46 Patriotism and Conservatism - 3:15 The Liberal Consensus - 14:42 Awakening Democracy - 39:07 Trump - 51:41 Key Links Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson Follow Heather Cox Richardson on Twitter @HC_Richardson Democracy Paradox Podcast Daniel Ziblatt on American Democracy, the Republican Party, and the Tyranny of the Minority Joseph Fishkin on the Constitution, American History, and Economic Inequality More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Sep 19, 2023 · 46 min

    Daniel Ziblatt on American Democracy, the Republican Party, and the Tyranny of the Minority

    I think one of the greatest barriers to reform is thinking that reform is impossible. Daniel Ziblatt Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Daniel Ziblatt is the Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University and director of the Transformations of Democracy group at Berlin's Social Science Center. He is the coauthor with Steven Levitsky of How Democracies Dieand a new book The Tyranny of the Minority and the author of Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:38 American Democracy - 3:25 A Multi-Racial Democracy - 16:36 Conservatism and Democracy - 22:34 The Republican Party and Authoritarianism - 35:37 Key Links Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy by Daniel Ziblatt Democracy Paradox Podcast Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman on Democratic Backsliding Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way on the Durable Authoritarianism of Revolutionary Regimes More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Sep 12, 2023 · 54 min

    Is Reunification Still Possible? Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo on Korea

    North Korea is stable up until the day it's not... The day that it collapses, there'll be a lot of people out there who will say this was inevitable. Victor Cha Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Victor Cha is a professor of government at Georgetown University and holds the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is a former director for Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council. Ramon Pacheco Pardo is a professor of international relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at Free University of Brussels. They are the authors of Korea: A New History of South and North. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:45 Korea as a People and a Place - 2:25 Korean War and its Aftermath - 11:44 Democracy - 23:23 Is Reconciliation Possible? - 40:55 Key Links Korea: A New History of South and North by Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo Victor Cha at the Center for Strategic & International Studies Ramon Pacheco Pardo at King's College London Democracy Paradox Podcast Deng Xiaoping is Not Who You Think He is. Joseph Torigian on Leadership Transitions in China and the Soviet Union Hal Brands Thinks China is a Declining Power… Here’s Why that’s a Problem More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Sep 5, 2023 · 46 min

    Deng Xiaoping is Not Who You Think He is. Joseph Torigian on Leadership Transitions in China and the Soviet Unio

    People still think of Chinese history as this two-line struggle because that's the story the Chinese tell. But everything from Mao Zedong's relationship to Liu Shaoqi to anything that happened during the 1980s, it was not a problem of competing policy platforms. It was a problem of getting the politics of your relationship with the top leader right when it was hard to guess what they were thinking and they were changing their mind and they were suspicious of you. Joseph Torigian Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Joseph Torigian is a Research Fellow at the Harvard History Lab. Previously he was an assistant professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington and a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. He is the author of Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:48 Deng Xiaoping and Hua Guofeng - 2:33 Khrushchev Consolidates Power - 16:16 Will History Repeat? - 30:11 Connections to Contemporary China - 38:31 Key Links Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao by Joseph Torigian Harvard History Lab Learn more about Joseph Torigian Democracy Paradox Podcast Hal Brands Thinks China is a Declining Power… Here’s Why that’s a Problem Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Aug 29, 2023 · 51 min

    Robert Kaplan on the Politics of the Past and Future of the Greater Middle East

    Great developments by nature are not linear. Things just don't always continue as they have been. That's why this idea that the Arab Spring came, it went, it happened, it didn't work, therefore the Middle East will always remain an autocracy - that's linear thinking. Great events are great precisely because they're not linear. Robert Kaplan Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Robert reported on foreign policy for The Atlantic for three decades and is currently the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. His most recent book is The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:43 What is the Greater Middle East? - 3:13 Developing Political Institutions - 14:55 Turkey and Iran - 26:40 Iraq - 38:15 Key Links The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China by Robert Kaplan Foreign Policy Research Institute The Writings of Robert Kaplan at The Atlantic Democracy Paradox Podcast Berk Esen and Sebnem Gumuscu on the Disappointing Elections in Turkey… or How Democratic (or Autocratic) is Turkey Really? Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Aug 22, 2023 · 39 min

    Is India Still a Democracy? Rahul Verma Emphatically Says Yes

    India should be understood as a test case of democracy outside the Western world. Rahul Verma Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Rahul Verma is a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. He is also Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Ashoka University. Recently, he wrote “The Exaggerated Death of Indian Democracy” in the recent Journal of Democracy. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:44 India's Democracy Paradox - 2:24 Reconciling Illiberalism - 15:54 Sources of Indian Democratic Deficits - 20:02 Overstating and Understating Indian Democracy - 30:50 Key Links "The Exaggerated Death of Indian Democracy" in Journal of Democracy by Rahul Verma Centre for Policy Research Follow Rahul Verma on Twitter @rahul_tverma Democracy Paradox Podcast Ashutosh Varshney on India. Democracy in Hard Places Christophe Jaffrelot on Narendra Modi and Hindu Nationalism More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Aug 15, 2023 · 49 min

    Cass Sunstein on Interpreting the US Constitution

    It would be a miracle if the original understanding of the Constitution just landed time and time again with the views in 2023 of the right-wing of the Republican Party. That would be too amazing a coincidence. That's more than troublesome. Cass Sunstein Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Cass Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School. During Obama’s first term he was the Administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He is the author of dozens of books including Nudge(with Richard Thaler) and The World According to Star Wars. His most recent book is How to Interpret the Constitution. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:38 Thinking about the Constitution - 3:06 Different Interpretations - 10:44 Textualism - 24:07 Amendment or Interpretation - 37:23 Key Links How to Interpret the Constitution by Cass Sunstein The World According to Star Wars by Cass Sunstein Follow Cass Sunstein on Twitter @CassSunstein Democracy Paradox Podcast Joseph Fishkin on the Constitution, American History, and Economic Inequality Donald Horowitz on the Formation of Democratic Constitutions More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Aug 8, 2023 · 42 min

    Marc Plattner Has Quite a Bit to Say About Democracy

    I think we have a more complex notion of what democracy is. - Marc Plattner Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Marc Plattner is the founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy and the founding codirector of the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies. Until 2016, he also served as NED’s vice president for research and studies, and from 1984 to 1989 he was NED’s director of program. He is the author of Democracy Without Borders? Global Challenges to Liberal Democracy (2008) and of Rousseau’s State of Nature(1979). His essays and reviews on a wide range of international and public policy issues have appeared in numerous books and journals, and he has coedited with Larry Diamond more than two dozen books on contemporary issues relating to democracy in the Journal of Democracy book series. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:48 Democratic Consensus - 2:32 Liberalism and Democracy - 10:26 Democratic Threats - 20:58 Governance - 28:51 Key Links "Why Ukraine Is Critical to Rebuilding Our Democratic Consensus" in the Journal of Democracy by Marc Plattner "Democracy Embattled" in the Journal of Democracy by Marc Plattner "Liberalism and Democracy: Can’t Have One Without the Other" in Foreign Affairs by Marc Plattner Democracy Paradox Podcast Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc Larry Diamond on Supporting Democracy in the World and at Home More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Aug 1, 2023 · 52 min

    Is McKinsey and Company a Threat to Democracy? Michael Forsythe Shares His Reporting

    It's too simplistic to call it an evil company. There are certainly a lot of very good people that work there. It's just the system itself and the corporation itself and the system that it's embedded in is what causes the problems. Michael Forsythe Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Michael Forsythe is a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times. Until February 2017 he was a correspondent in the Hong Kong office, focusing on the intersection of money and politics in China. He is the author (along with Walt Bogdanich) of When McKinsey Comes to Town: the Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:35 Who is McKinsey & Company? - 3:14 Is it Anti-Democratic? - 17:55 Working with Autocrats - 34:17 Can it Change? - 44:33 Key Links When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe "How McKinsey Lost Its Way in South Africa" in The New York Times by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe Follow Michael Forsythe on Twitter @PekingMike Democracy Paradox Podcast Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jul 25, 2023 · 51 min

    Sergei Guriev Revisits Spin Dictators

    Spin dictators have fewer political prisoners, fewer political killings. This is good. This is really good. On the other hand, we want to tell everybody that they are still dictators. Sergei Guriev Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Sergei Guriev is a professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris. He was a former chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the former rector of the New Economic School in Moscow. He is the coauthor (along with Daniel Treisman) of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:46 Spin Dictatorships and Fear Dictatorships - 3:12 Popular Support - 25:21 Putin - 39:44 Beyond Spin Dictatorship - 43:49 Key Links Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman "Informational Autocrats" in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman Follow Sergei Guriev on Twitter @sguriev Democracy Paradox Podcast Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc Larry Bartels Says Democracy Erodes from the Top More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jul 18, 2023 · 57 min

    Berk Esen and Sebnem Gumuscu on the Disappointing Elections in Turkey... or How Democratic (or Autocratic) is Turkey Really?

    Elections are not free or fair, but they matter greatly because this is how Erdoğan comes to power and stays in power and in this case he was almost about to lose that power. Sebnem Gumuscu Support Democracy Paradox on Podurama. Listen here. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Berk Esen is an assistant professor of political science at Sabancı University. Sebnem Gumuscu is an associate professor of political science at Middlebury College. Their recent paper in the Journal of Democracy is “How Erdoğan’s Populism Won Again.” Key Highlights Introduction - 0:33 Democracy in Turkey - 3:30 The Opposition - 21:36 The AKP - 27:40 Is Democracy Lost? - 41:01 Key Links "How Erdoğan’s Populism Won Again" in Journal of Democracy by Berk Esen and Sebnem Gumuscu Democratic Erosion: A Research, Teaching, & Policy Collaboration Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia by Sebnem Gumuscu Democracy Paradox Podcast Dan Slater on Thailand’s Revolutionary Election Anne Applebaum on Autocracy, Inc More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jul 11, 2023 · 53 min

    Hal Brands Thinks China is a Declining Power... Here's Why that's a Problem

    The most dangerous states in the international system aren't necessarily revisionist powers that think that their trajectory points continually upward. It's those countries that have been growing, rising for a long time, and then fear that they are peaking and are about to decline. Those are the countries that are inclined to take the biggest risks to try to improve their position in the the here and now before things get worse for them in the future. Hal Brands Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is the coauthor (with Michael Beckley) of Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China and the author of The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great-Power Rivalry Today. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:43 Peaking Power Theory - 3:12 The Original Cold War - 22:28 China as a Peaking Power - 31:14 American Policy Toward China - 41:56 Key Links Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China by Hal Brands and Michael Beckley The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today by Hal Brands "China’s Threat to Global Democracy" in Journal of Democracy by Hal Brands and Michael Beckley Democracy Paradox Podcast Josh Chin on China’s Surveillance State Elizabeth Economy in a Wide Ranging Conversation About China More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jul 4, 2023 · 50 min

    Natasha Wheatley Raises Some Really Difficult Questions About Sovereignty

    My book is in some ways trying to help us see not only the kind of deep intermingling of pre-modern and modern ideas of sovereignty, but how we repeat some of those more fantastical attributes of sovereignty that we might otherwise presume to be long gone remnants of a more superstitious or religious age. Natasha Wheatley Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Natasha Wheatley is an assistant professor of history at Princeton University. She is the author of The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:40 The State as Modern and Pre-Modern - 2:52 The Habsbug Empire - 9:21 Collapse of an Empire - 24:09 The State and International Law - 40:55 Key Links The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty by Natasha Wheatley Learn More About Natasha Wheatley Follow Natasha Wheatley on Twitter @natasha_wheatl Democracy Paradox Podcast Anna Grzymala-Busse on the Sacred Foundations of Modern Politics Tom Ginsburg Shares his Thoughts on Democracy and International Law More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jun 27, 2023 · 48 min

    Sebastian Edwards on the History of Neoliberalism in Chile

    I think that the most important reform is openness. Once the country is open, really open to the rest of the world, the rest follows. Sebastian Edwards Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Sebastian Edwards is the Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was the former Chief Economist for Latin America at the World Bank where from 1993 until 1996. His most recent book is The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:46 Pinochet and the Origin of the Chicago Boys - 3:17 Neoliberalism Under Democracy - 22:35 Personal Background of Sebastian Edwards - 30:18 Future of Chile - 38:35 Key Links The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism by Sebastian Edwards Learn More About Sebastian Edwards Watch the film Chicago Boys by Carola Fuentes and Rafael Valdeavellano Democracy Paradox Podcast Jennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in Chile Aldo Madariaga on Neoliberalism, Democratic Deficits, and Chile More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jun 20, 2023 · 50 min

    Dan Slater on Thailand's Revolutionary Election

    Democracy is Eastern as well as Western. Dan Slater Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Dan Slater is the James Orin Murfin Professor of Political Science, the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Professor of Emerging Democracies, and director of the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan. His most recent book (coauthored with Joseph Wong) is From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia. More recently he wrote the article "Thailand's Revolutionary Election" at the Journal of Democracy. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:41 An Inspiring Election - 2:38 Parties and Politics - 5:09 Forming a Government - 21:09 Risks and Hope - 35:53 Key Links "Thailand's Revolutionary Election" by Dan Slater at Journal of Democracy From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia by Dan Slater and Joseph Wong "What Indonesian Democracy Can Teach the World" by Dan Slater in the Journal of Democracy Democracy Paradox Podcast Dan Slater on Indonesia Roger Lee Huang on Myanmar More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jun 13, 2023 · 47 min

    Peter Turchin Wants to Avoid Political Disintegration

    If you have grown up in a household which had decent quality of life and now you are struggling, you cannot even match the degree of wellbeing that your parents achieved, this is very obvious and makes people feel completely dissatisfied with the system that we have now. Peter Turchin Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Peter is a complexity scientist who has established a new field of social science research called cliodynamics. He is the author of the book End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration, Key Highlights Introduction - 0:45 The Crisis - 3:05 Elites - 11:54 Popular Immiseration - 30:59 Cliodynamics - 43:40 Key Links End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration by Peter Turchin Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution Learn more about Peter Turchin Democracy Paradox Podcast Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism Francis Fukuyama Responds to Liberalism’s Discontents More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • Jun 6, 2023 · 50 min

    Isabel Kershner on Israel and its Divisions

    It's very hard to understand what's happening today without looking at the roots of all these divisions and at the interests of the different communities and their long-held resentments against the establishment of the country. Isabel Kershner Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Isabel Kershner is a reporter at The New York Times and the author of a new book called The Land of Hope and Fear: Israel's Battle for Its Inner Soul. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:37 Mizrahi and Askenazi - 5:31 Immigration - 18:08 Ultra-Orthodox - 28:12 Netanyahu's Judiciary Proposal - 39:27 Key Links The Land of Hope and Fear: Israel's Battle for Its Inner Soul by Isabel Kershner Read more from Isabel Kershner at The New York Times Follow Isabel Kershner on Twitter @IKershner Democracy Paradox Podcast Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq Yascha Mounk on the Great Experiment of Diverse Democracies More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • May 30, 2023 · 46 min

    Cole Bunzel on Wahhābism

    The Jihadis today root themselves theologically and ideologically in a particular movement that is exclusivist, that is militant, that is activist, and that is the movement known as Wahhābism. Cole Bunzel Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Cole Bunzel is a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the editor of the blog Jihadica. He is the author of the book Wahhābism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:33 Relevance and Overview - 2:43 Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab - 14:15 Appeal to Adherents - 26:14 Legacy - 36:16 Key Links Wahhābism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement by Cole Bunzel Read the Jihadica Blog Learn more about Cole Bunzel Democracy Paradox Podcast Marsin Alshamary on Iraq’s Struggle for Democracy Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show

  • May 23, 2023 · 48 min

    Daron Acemoglu on Technology and the Struggle for Shared Prosperity

    If you have this model of AI, which is geniuses design machines and those machines or algorithms are going to scoop up all the data and they're going to make better decisions for you. That's fundamentally anti-democratic. Daron Acemoglu Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Daron Acemoglu is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at MIT. He is coauthor (with James A. Robinson) of The Narrow Corridor, Why Nations Fail, and The Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. His latest book (with Simon Johnson) is Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:33 Technology and Progress - 2:06 Productivity - 14:01 Artificial Intelligence - 24:42 Shared Prosperity - 34:31 Key Links Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson Learn more about Daron Acemoglu Democracy Paradox Podcast Jamie Susskind Explains How to Use Republican Ideals to Govern Technology Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show