Democracy Paradox

March 24th, 1976 is the coup and it unleashes wild celebrations in establishment Argentina and almost no opposition.... Of course, this unleashed the most ruthless dictatorship in Argentina's history and in recent South American history as well.

Scott Mainwaring

Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Scott Mainwaring is the Eugene and Helen Conley Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010. His most recent book is Democracy in Hard Places (coedited with Tarek Masoud). In April 2019, PS: Political Science and Politics listed him as one of the 50 most cited political scientists in the world.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Democratization in 1973 - 3:41
• Democratic Erosion - 18:30
• Breakdown - 39:08
• Argentina Today - 43:18

Key Links

When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, From Ancient Athens to the Present Day edited by Archon Fung, David Moss, and Odd Arne Westad

"Democratic Breakdown in Argentina, 1976" by Scott Mainwaring

Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Scott Mainwaring on Argentina and a Final Reflection on Democracy in Hard Places

When Democracy Breaks: 1930s Japan with Louise Young

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There's a fog of democratic breakdown where really you cannot see the actual impact of your choices or your actions until after the fact.

Louise Young

Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Get your copy of When Democracy Breaks or read it open access.

Access Episodes Ad-Free on Patreon

Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.

Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Louise Young is a professor of history at the University of Wisonsin-Madison. She is the author of the chapter “The Breakdown of Democracy in 1930s Japan.” It is part of the volume When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, From Ancient Athens to the Present Day.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Democratization - 2:52
• What Made it Different - 11:41
• Democratic Breakdown - 20:14
• Resisting Democratic Erosion - 37:15

Key Links

When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, From Ancient Athens to the Present Day edited by Archon Fung, David Moss, and Odd Arne Westad

"The Breakdown in Democracy in 1930s Japan" by Louise Young

Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Democracy Paradox Podcast

When Democracy Breaks: Ancient Athens with Josiah Ober and Federica Carugati

Dan Slater on Indonesia

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What strikes me about that period is that democracy was not inevitable.

Federica Carugati

Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Get your copy of When Democracy Breaks or read it open access.

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Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.

Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Josiah Ober is a Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University. Federica Carugati is a Lecturer in History and Political Economy at King's College London. They are the coauthors of the chapter “Democratic Collapse and Recovery in Ancient Athens (413-403 BCE)” in a new book called When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, From Ancient Athens to the Present Day.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Democratization - 3:28
• Breakdown - 17:36
• Rebirth - 36:48
• Final Lessons - 47:51

Key Links

When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, From Ancient Athens to the Present Day edited by Archon Fung, David Moss, and Odd Arne Westad

"Democratic Collapse and Recovery in Ancient Athens (413-403 BCE)" by Federica Carugati and Josiah Ober

Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Does Democracy Rely on a Civic Bargain? Josiah Ober Makes the Case

David Stasavage on Early Democracy and its Decline

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I think that if you got rid of the Electoral College, in the short run, there would be losers. But it hasn't always been the same group and it hasn't always been the same party.

Alexander Keyssar

Made in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.

Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at Harvard University and the author of the book Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Origin of the Electoral College - 3:05
• Proportional or District Electoral Votes - 17:37
• Race and Civil Rights - 27:02
• Why No Reform - 41:44

Key Links

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? by Alexander Keyssar

Watch Electoral College Symposium: What’s to be Done?

Follow Alexander Keyssar on X @AlexKeyssar

Democracy Paradox Podcast

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

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

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You actually have to fight in every generation, if you want to preserve liberalism. It's not just going to preserve itself. It's not just the end of history. It isn't just the final resting place of humanity - not by any stretch of the imagination. It's a continual struggle.

Robert Kagan

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Robert Kagan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a columnist for The Washington Post. He is the author of many books including most recently The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941 and Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart--Again.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Traditions of Liberalism and Antiliberalism - 3:04
• Antiliberalism as an Idea - 8:35
• Tension Within Ourselves - 21:25
• Future of Liberalism and Antiliberalism - 37:42

Key Links

Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart--Again by Robert Kagan

The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941 by Robert Kagan

Follow Robert Kagan at the Brookings Institution

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Robert Kagan Looks to American History to Explain Foreign Policy Today

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

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People in Congress are leaders in their communities and people in some parts of this country are, in my opinion, being led astray.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill

This episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Proudly sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Representative Mikie Sherrill represents the 11th Congressional District of New Jersey. She sits on the Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Readiness, Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, and the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy, a Master’s degree in Global History from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Law degree from Georgetown University.  She is a military veteran with almost ten years of active duty service.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Personal Background - 3:48
• Polarization and Foreign Policy - 13:50
• China - 23:36
• American Democracy - 28:41

Key Links

Learn more about Rep. Mikie Sherrill on her Congressional page

Follow Rep. Mikie Sherrill on X @RepSherrill or @MikieSherrill

Rep. Mikie Sherrill's Campaign Page

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Grading Biden’s Foreign Policy with Alexander Ward

Can America Fight Back Against the Authoritarian Economic Statecraft of China? Bethany Allen Believes We Can

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What does it mean to empower women politically in a context in which the dominant party is engaged in democratic backsliding or other forms of illiberal and exclusionary politics? Would you still want more women to be part of that party?

Saskia Brechenmacher

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Made in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Saskia Brechenmacher is a fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Recently, she coauthored a new book with Katherine Mann called Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality - 3:13
• Gender Quotas - 12:38
• Challenges - 28:12
• New Ideas and Issues - 44:53

Key Links

Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics by Saskia Brechenmacher and Katherine Mann

Learn more about Saskia Brechenmacher at the Carnegie Endowment

Follow Saskia Brechenmacher on X @SaskiaBrech

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Marc Plattner Has Quite a Bit to Say About Democracy

Larry Diamond on Supporting Democracy in the World and at Home

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We have to reconstruct the foundations of our democracy, building on the past, not repudiating everything we're building on it.

Bruce Ackerman

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Bruce Ackerman is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale. He is well known as a legal scholar and a political philosopher. His most recent book is The Postmodern Predicament: Existential Challenges of the Twenty-First Century.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Modernity - 2:37
• Postmodernism - 15:26
• Deliberation Day - 36:08
• Rethinking Modernity - 43:28

Key Links

The Postmodern Predicament: Existential Challenges of the Twenty-First Century by Bruce Ackerman

Learn more about Bruce Ackerman on Wikipedia

Follow Bruce Ackerman on X @backermanyale

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Yascha Mounk Warns Against a Misguided New Ideology

Zizi Papacharissi Dreams of What Comes After Democracy

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We thought we were strengthening the militaries in the Cold War. In fact, the political effects of those strengthened militaries ended up leading to a longer-term deterioration and instability.

Adam Casey

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Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Adam E. Casey is an analyst in the United States government. He wrote Up in Arms: How Military Aid Stabilizes―and Destabilizes―Foreign Autocrats while he was a research fellow at the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan. All the content in the book and this interview reflects the views of the author and does not reflect the position of any US government agency or department, nor does it assert or imply US government authentication of information or endorsement of the author's views.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Why Military Aid Destabilizes Some Autocrats - 4:23
• The Soviet Approach to Military Aid - 21:50
• Revolutionary Governments - 29:09
• Modernization - 35:57

Key Links

Up in Arms: How Military Aid Stabilizes―and Destabilizes―Foreign Autocrats by Adam Casey

"The Origins of Military Supremacy in Dictatorships," by Dan Slater Lucan A. Way Jean Lachapelle and Adam E. Casey in Journal of Democracy.

Follow Adam Casey on X @adam_e_casey

Democracy Paradox Podcast

After a Coup, Can the Constitutional Order Be Repaired? Adem Abebe on Rebuilding Constitutions in West Africa

Naunihal Singh on the Myth of the Coup Contagion

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Apes of the State created all Music

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We have to care more about truth than tribe. We have to care more about each other than about profit.

Barbara McQuade

This episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy

Access Episodes Ad-Free on Patreon

Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.

Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu

Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Learn more at https://carnegieendowment.org

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

Barbara McQuade is a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and a co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw. Her new book Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Propaganda Today - 3:05
• Disinformation and Polarization - 19:57
• Free Speech - 24:29
• Attack from Within - 37:14

Key Links

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade

Learn more about Barbara McQuade

Follow Barbara McQuade on X @BarbMcQuade

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Peter Pomerantsev on Winning an Information War

Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda

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Apes of the State created all Music

Email the show at [email protected]

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100 Books on Democracy

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