Traditional programmatic parties serve as a critical guardrail for democracy. 

Erica Frantz

In this episode, Justin Kempf speaks with Erica Frantz about her book The Origins of Elected Strongmen and the rise of personalist leaders in democracies. Frantz explains how leader-dominated political parties – more than populist rhetoric alone – can erode democratic institutions from within, drawing on cases from El Salvador to France. The conversation explores why voters support such leaders and what this trend means for the future of democracy worldwide.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Personalism Defined - 2:50
• Personalism's Appeal - 14:19
• Threat to Democracy - 19:38
• Pushing the Boundaries of the Theory - 33:13

Links

Learn more about Erica Frantz.

Learn more about her coauthored book The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

Register for the Global Democracy Conference

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By dismantling certain capacities today, you're making the democratic choices of tomorrow harder.

Javier Pérez Sandoval

In this episode, Javier Pérez Sandoval discusses his Journal of Democracy essay, coauthored with Andrés Mejía Acosta, on why populist leaders often “hollow out” the state. Moving beyond familiar debates about executive aggrandizement and democratic backsliding, Pérez Sandoval argues that democracy depends on the state’s capacity to deliver essential public goods – from health and education to security, justice, and credible elections. Drawing on examples from Mexico and Argentina, he explains how both left- and right-wing populists may weaken institutions through austerity, politicization, and institutional restructuring, often prioritizing short-term political gains over long-term democratic resilience. The conversation explores how state erosion can constrain future democratic choices, undermine public trust, and create a vicious cycle that leaves democracy structurally weakened from within.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Reducing State Capacity - 3:47
• Core Functions of the State - 12:23
• Is Reducing State Capacity Antidemocratic? 21:13
• Does the Public Want to Hollow Out the State? 33:31

Links

Learn more about Javier Pérez Sandoval.

Read the Journal of Democracy essay “Why Populists Hollow Out Their States.”

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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Support the show

The group of people who have an interest in defending liberal democracy might be broader than many academics, and maybe even liberals, would have shown.

Kate Baldwin

This episode features Yale political scientist Kate Baldwin in a conversation about her book Faith in Democracy, which challenges the assumption that religion is inherently hostile to democratic governance. Drawing on research from sub-Saharan Africa, Baldwin explains how Christian churches have often emerged as defenders of liberal democracy – not because of ideological commitments, but because democratic institutions protect church autonomy and social service work from state overreach. The conversation explores when and why churches mobilize against democratic backsliding, how institutional incentives shape political behavior, and what this reveals about the broader coalition of actors invested in sustaining democracy.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Why Churches Defend Democracy - 3:20
• Role of Education - 14:09
• Why Churches Choose Autocracy - 20:09
• Leadership - 27:00

Links

Learn more about Kate Baldwin.

Learn more about her book Faith in Democracy: The Logic of Church Advocacy for Liberal Democratic Institutions in Africa.

Check out "Democracy's Devout Defenders" in the Journal of Democracy.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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You can take a cognitive bias so far down the road that you can live in an objectively very clear dictatorship and sit there and say, 'I live in a democracy.'

Natalie Wenzell Letsa

In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, host Justin Kempf speaks with political scientist Natalie Wenzell Letsa about why some voters genuinely support ruling parties in electoral autocracies. Drawing on her book The Autocratic Voter and fieldwork in Cameroon, Letsa explains how partisan identities form under dictatorship and what these dynamics reveal about democracy, polarization, and political behavior more broadly.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• What is an Electoral Autocracy - 3:20
• Voters in an Autocracy - 12:55
• Opposition in an Autocracy - 21:04
• Parallels to Democracies - 30:31

Links

Learn more about Natalie Wenzell Letsa.

Learn more about her book The Autocratic Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization Under Dictatorship.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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The heart of ungoverning is going after expertise - eradicating expertise - and replacing it with the power of the great ruler.

Russ Muirhead

Russell Muirhead is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics and the co-director of the Political Economy Project at Dartmouth University. He's also the co-author, with Nancy Rosenblum, of Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos. 

Patrick McQuestion joins to help introduce the episode. Patrick is a  PhD student in his fourth year at the University of Notre Dame studying political science and peace studies, and also the co-host of the Global Stage Podcast. 

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• What is Ungoverning? 9:00
• The Fourth Branch - 32:29
• Other Examples of Ungoverning 36:28
• Ungoverning and Democracy - 46:59

Links:

Learn more about Russell Muirhead

Learn more about his book Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos

Learn more about Patrick McQuestion

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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Decreasing incumbent capacity and affective polarization are making incumbency salient, but also more of a curse than a blessing.

Luis Schiumerini

In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, host Justin Kempf speaks with Notre Dame political scientist Luis Schiumerini about his new book Incumbency Bias: Why Political Office is a Blessing and a Curse in Latin America. Schiumerini challenges common assumptions about incumbents, demonstrating that holding office can create systematic advantages – or disadvantages – depending on the institutional context. Before the conversation begins, Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate Tomás Gianibelli joins Kempf to share his experience working with Schiumerini and to explain why this research reshapes how scholars think about democracy.

 The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• What is Incumbency Bias - 6:06
• Incumbency Disadvantage on the Rise - 23:58
• Term Limits - 31:39
• Implications for Democracy - 36:52

Links:

Learn more about Luis Schiumerini

Learn more about his book Incumbency Bias: Why Political Office is a Blessing and a Curse in Latin America

Learn more about Tomás Gianibelli

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

Support the show

The biggest disappointment is that democracies do not reduce social and economic inequality.

Adam Przeworski

In this episode, host Justin Kempf talks with political scientist Adam Przeworski about what truly defines democracy today. Przeworski explains why he sees no global democratic crisis, defends a minimalist view centered on free and fair elections, and reflects on why democracies struggle to reduce inequality. He also discusses why citizens sometimes tolerate democratic erosion and how modern autocracies maintain support, offering a clear and concise perspective on democracy’s strengths and limits. Alejandro González Ruiz, cohost of the Kellogg Institute's Global Stage podcast, joins to help introduce the episode.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Minimal Democracy and Democratic Crisis - 9:44
• Economic Inequality and Democracy - 22:37
• Autocracy and Popular Support - 31:42
• Democratic Backsliding - 36:09

Links

Learn more about Adam Przeworski.

Learn more about his book Crises of Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Learn more about Alejandro González Ruiz.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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For democratic revolutions to survive counterrevolution, they have to make certain choices that can undermine the quality of their democracy.

Killian Clarke

Political scientist Killian Clarke joins The Democracy Paradox to discuss his new book, Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed. He explains why democratic revolutions are especially vulnerable to reversal, how elites and citizens can align in counterrevolutionary movements, and what these dynamics reveal about democracy’s fragility and endurance today. Amanda Waterhouse, a postdoctoral democracy researcher at the Kellogg Institute also joins to help introduce the episode.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Counterrevolutions as Mass Movements - 9:59
• Prevalence and Success of Counterrevolution - 19:08
• Is Counterrevolution Always Bad? - 33:22
• Why Some Revolutionaries Join the Counterrevolution - 41:12

Links

Learn more about Amanda Waterhouse.

Learn more about Killian Clarke.

Learn more about Clarke's book Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed (Cambridge University Press, 2025)

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

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The regime question at its core is about how we should govern ourselves... This is an enduring question that is essential to democratic politics.

Amel Ahmed

This episode begins with host Justin Kempf and Javier Pérez Sandoval setting the stage for a deep dive into the “regime question,” highlighting its significance in democratic theory and contemporary politics. Their introductory discussion explores foundational divides in political systems and frames the questions that will be pursued, particularly the tensions between institutional arrangements and party cleavages. The heart of the episode follows as Kempf interviews Amel Ahmed, who draws on her comparative research to examine historical battles over parliamentary power, suffrage, and executive authority in the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany. Ahmed connects these cases to present-day concerns about legislative dysfunction and polarization, demonstrating that ongoing contestation over the rules of democracy is both persistent and essential to democratic governance.

The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Amel Ahmed is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the author of the book The Regime Question: Foundations of Democratic Governance in Europe and the United States. 

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• What is the Regime Question - 8:42
• Electoral Authoritarianism - 25:05
• Resolving the Regime Question - 36:03
• Implications for Democracy - 44:47

Links

Learn more about Javier Pérez Sandoval

Learn more about Amel Ahmed

Learn more about her book, The Regime Question: Foundations of Democratic Governance in Europe and the United States

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute

Support the show

After an introductory conversation with Kellogg Faculty Fellow Marc Jacob, Democracy Paradox host Justin Kempf explores the dynamics of global democracy with renowned expert Thomas Carothers. Carothers, the director of the Carnegie Endowment's Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, shares his deep knowledge and firsthand experiences in democracy promotion, focusing on the importance of coalition-building, inclusive leadership, and long-term commitment in sustaining democratic movements. Drawing from case studies in Latin America, particularly Chile and Brazil, he provides thoughtful reflections on the challenges and successes of political activism. This conversation offers insights for scholars, policymakers, and activists dedicated to advancing resilient democratic institutions worldwide.

 The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Read the full transcript here.

Tom Carothers is the Director of the Democracy Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He's the author of numerous books and articles. Some of his most recent articles and reports include “Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding,” “Lessons about Backsliding and Resistance,” and “Understanding and Responding to Global Democratic Backsliding.” 

Chapters

• Introduction with Marc Jacob - 0:20
• Explanations for Backsliding - 8:40
• Role of Institutions - 24:28
• Polarization - 37:31
• Democratic Hardball - 39:24

Links:

Learn more about Marc Jacob.

Learn more about Thomas Carothers.

Learn more about the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.

Support the show