Democracy Paradox

Boeing is pulling out, DuPont, Erickson, Analog Devices, Bombardier. Eventually all of these things are going to cause supply and production chain issues and unemployment in Russia. So, Mr. Putin doesn't have an infinite amount of time before havoc is wrought.

Kathryn Stoner

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Kathryn Stoner is the Mosbacher Director at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, a professor of political science at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is also the author of the book Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order. Her article “How Putin’s War Has Ruined Russia” was recently published online at journalofdemocracy.org.

Key Highlights

• How has Russia's invasion of Ukraine affected perceptions of Russia's military
• How has it affected its economy both short-term and long-term
• How has it affected Russia's international standing
• The affects on Russia's citizens
• What does Putin's unpredictability mean for peace in Ukraine

Key Links

"How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia" by Kathryn Stoner in Journal of Democracy

Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order by Kathryn Stoner

Follow Kathryn Stoner on Twitter @kath_stoner

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Moisés Naím on the New Dynamics of Political Power

Kathryn Stoner on Russia’s Economy, Politics, and Foreign Policy

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Democracy Group

Apes of the State created all Music

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There's something natural and organic about perceiving that the people in power are out to advance their own interests. It's in part because it’s often true. Governments actually do keep secrets from the public. Politicians engage in scandals. There often is corruption at high levels. So, we don't want citizens in a democracy to be too trusting of their politicians. It's healthy to be skeptical of the state and its real abuses and tendencies towards secrecy. The danger is when this distrust gets redirected, not toward the state, but targets innocent people who are not actually responsible for people's problems.

Scott Radnitz

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

*Please note during the interview the host says "conspiracy" rather than "conspiracy theory." The transcript has been corrected.*

Scott Radnitz is an associate professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington and the director of the Ellison Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies. He is the author of Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region and coeditor with Harris Mylonas of the forthcoming book Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns. His article “Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories” was recently published in the Journal of Democracy.

Key Highlights

• Conspiracy theories Russia uses to justify their invasion of Ukraine
• Why Russia relies on conspiracy theories in its political rhetoric
• The use of conspiracy theories in democracies and autocracies
• The recent proliferation of conspiracy theories in the United States
• How to mitigate the harmful effects of conspiracy theories in politics

Key Links

"Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories" by Scott Radnitz in Journal of Democracy

Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region by Scott Radnitz

Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns edited by Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Ronald Deibert from Citizen Lab on Cyber Surveillance, Digital Subversion, and Transnational Repression

Moisés Naím on the New Dynamics of Political Power

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Democracy Group

Apes of the State created all Music

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This bonus episode is part of a series of interviews available for monthly supporters of Democracy Paradox at Patreon. Other interviews feature guests like Julia Azari, Mila Atmos, and Bob Shrum. But more importantly you'll help the podcast cover important expenses and continue to grow. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter by clicking on the link here.

If you want to help the podcast in other ways, please email the host, Justin Kempf, at [email protected].

Dan Banik is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo and Director of the Oslo SDG Initiative. He also hosts the podcast In Pursuit of Development. His podcast is among the most insightful on topics of democracy, modernization, and sustainability. Past guests have included Francis Fukuyama and Daron Acemoglu. But it's Dan's ability to help listeners understand complex ideas and subjects that sets his podcast apart.

In Pursuit of Development 

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Follow Dan on Twitter @danbanik 

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So, if your aim is to get inside someone's device without their permission and gather up information, you could do that using a very sophisticated commercial spyware technology like Pegasus. The latest iteration of it employs zero click technology meaning that it can target and insert itself on any device without the owner of that device even knowing or being tricked into clicking on a link. That's very powerful, because there is no defense against it.

Ronald Deibert

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Ronald Deibert is a professor of political science at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Citizen Lab. He recently gave the 18th annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture at the National Endowment for Democracy. Its title was “Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy.” His article, “Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage” in the most recent Journal of Democracy is based on this lecture.

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Key Highlights

• How Black Cube tried to infiltrate Citizen Lab
• How autocrats continue to repress political dissidents overseas
• The privatization of espionage and spycraft
• The link between surveillance capitalism and private espionage
• What liberal democracies can do to defend civil society

Key Links

Citizen Lab

Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture "Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy" by Ronald Deibert

"Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage" by Ronald Deibert in Journal of Democracy

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Can Democracy Survive the Internet? Nate Persily and Josh Tucker on Social Media and Democracy

Winston Mano on Social Media and Politics in Africa… And what America can Learn from Africa about Democracy

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Pure economic factors or technological factors or the level of economic development or level of technological development cannot explain the diversity of levels of inequality and structure of inequality that we observe throughout history.

Thomas Piketty

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Thomas Piketty is Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and the Paris School of Economics and Codirector of the World Inequality Lab. He is also the author of A Brief History of Equality.

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Key Highlights

• The Case for Reparations for Haiti
• An Account of the Historical Movement Toward Greater Equality
• Economic Inequality as a Political Construction
• Should Economic Equality be the Goal of the State?
• Is Thomas Piketty Optimistic for the Future?

Key Links

A Brief History of Equality by Thomas Piketty

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty

Follow Thomas Piketty on Twitter @PikettyLeMonde

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Joseph Fishkin on the Constitution, American History, and Economic Inequality

Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson on the Plutocratic Populism of the Republican Party

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I heard a verified story of a person who made his way with his family from an occupied town listening to our broadcast, because we were telling them where it was dangerous for them to go and where it was more or less safe to go. So, radio actually saves lives. I probably cannot save lives otherwise. But I can with the help of radio.

Andriy Kulykov

Recorded on April 19th, 2022.

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Marta Dyczok is an Associate Professor at the Departments of History and Political Science, Western University, Canada. She was the host of the podcast Ukraine Calling. Andriy Kulykov is co-founder and Chairperson of Hromadske Radio.

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Key Highlights

• A Short History of Hromadske Radio
• Do Journalists in Ukraine Consider Themselves Information Warriors
• The Importance of Media Literacy in a War
• How Radio Can Saved Lives in Ukraine
• Andriy's Thoughts on Ukrainian Identity

Key Links

Ukraine Calling: A Kaleidoscope from Hromadske Radio 2016–2019 edited by Marta Dyczok

Listen to the Ukraine Calling Podcast

Learn more about Hromadske Radio

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Between Russia and China: Anja Mihr on Central Asia

Joshua Yaffa on Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia

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So, there's actually something about the basic mechanism of democracy that does make it harder to sustain diversity. In other ways, the principles of liberal democracy are the right solution. And so, obviously my vision for the future is that of a diverse democracy. But we shouldn't be at ease about the ways in which democracy can sometimes inflame ethnic and religious tensions as well.

Yascha Mounk

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University and the founder of Persuasion. Mounk is also a contributing editor at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.

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Key Highlights

• Is a diverse democracy more democratic
• Challenges for diverse democracies
• Yascha's vision for diverse societies
• The most dangerous idea in American Politics
• Is it more difficult for diverse ideas to flourish?

Key Links

The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure by Yascha  Mounk

Read more from Yascha Mounk at Persuassion

Follow Yascha Mounk @Yascha_Mounk

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Elisabeth Ivarsflaten and Paul Sniderman on Inclusion and Respect of Muslim Minorities

Sara Wallace Goodman on Citizen Responses to Democratic Threats

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I think the revolutionary process has become somewhat less consequential in some ways. The ability to bring about substantive change in the wake of revolution has deteriorated for one thing. We've gained certain things as well. I mean, revolutions are no longer as violent as they once were. They're more frequent than they once were, almost more normal in terms of being part of the political landscape in a way that they were not in the past.

Mark Beissinger

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Mark Beissinger is a professor of politics at Princeton University and the author of the new book The Revolutionary City: Urbanization and the Global Transformation of Rebellion.

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Key Highlights

• An Account of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine
• Description of Urban Civic Revolutions
• Why are Revolutions more Successful than in the Past?
• Why are Revolutions Less Violent?
• How do Revolutions Continue to Change?

Key Links

The Revolutionary City: Urbanization and the Global Transformation of Rebellion by Mark Beissinger

Learn more about Mark Beissinger at Princeton University

Learn more about Mark Beissinger at Wikipedia

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Erica Chenoweth on Civil Resistance

George Lawson on Revolution

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It's still shocking to me to read a lot of these documents and interviews in, The Afghanistan Papers, things that most people would think are obvious. What's the plan to end the war? What benchmarks do we have to achieve so that we know we can leave? You know, none of those things were thought out or articulated.

Craig Whitlock

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post and the author of The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.

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Key Highlights

• When did the War in Afghanistan Go Wrong
• The Lies and Deception in Communications on the War
• Differences in the Approach to the War Between Bush and Obama
• Failures to Provide a Long-Term Political Solution
• Lessons for Involvement in Ukraine and Beyond

 
Key Links

The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War by Craig Whitlock

Afghanistan Papers Document Database at The Washington Post

"At War With Truth" by Craig Whitlock

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili and Ilia Murtazashvili on Afghanistan, Local Institutions, and Self-Governance

Karen Greenberg on the War on Terror, Donald Trump, and American Democracy

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I have worked on voting issues for 35 years, for same-day registration and for opening up the process to younger people and preregistration, and, you know, nevertheless 35 years later we're still at 60 and 65%. 2020 was the highest turnout election ever and it was at 66%. So, I started to think what is it that could really, really move the needle and change the game.

Miles Rapoport

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting  here.

Miles Rapoport is also the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. He formerly served as secretary of the state of Connecticut.  He is the coauthor of the book 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting with E.J. Dionne.

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Key Highlights

• What is Civic Duty Voting?
• Why Should We Require Citizens to Vote?
• Is Voting a Right or a Duty?
• Australia's System of Civic Duty Voting
• How Would it Change How Citizens Think About Themselves?

Key Links

100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting by Miles Rapoport and E.J. Dionne

Learn about Miles Rapoport at Harvard University

Lift Every Voice: The Urgency of Universal Civic Duty Voting 

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Shari Davis Elevates Participatory Budgeting

Lee Drutman Makes the Case for Multiparty Democracy in America

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Apes of the State created all Music

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100 Books on Democracy

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