South African economist Murray Leibbrandt is interviewed by Kellogg Institute PhD Fellow Rasheed Ibrahim on measuring inequality and poverty in Africa. Leibbrandt describes the importance of tying policies together to create dynamic environments for improving livelihoods holistically. He draws from his experience in South Africa to describe the intersectional texture of structural inequalities: regional, gendered, age-based, racialized.

En entrevista con la estudiante doctoral Isabel Güiza-Gómez, la antropóloga cultural y académica sobre paz Angela Lederach discute su libro reciente que se titula y fue publicado por Stanford University Press. Con un enfoque en Montes de María, Colombia, este libro hace un llamado hacia un entendimiento detallado sobre la construcción de paz de base como un lugar de disputa política. El libro ofrece la noción de paz sin prisa para hacer referencia a la temporalidad de la construcción de paz de base, que usualmente contrasta los límites temporales de la implementación de paz en espacios formales e institucionales.

Interviewed by Kellogg Doctoral Affiliate Isabel Güiza-Gómez, Cultural Anthropologist and Peace Scholar Angela Lederach discusses her recent book entitled "Feel the Grass Grow: Ecologies of Slow Peace in Colombia," published by Stanford University Press. Focusing on Montes de María, Colombia, Lederach calls for a nuanced understanding of grassroots peacebuilding as a site for political contestation. She also introduces the concept of slow peace to refer to the temporality of grassroots peacebuilding that usually contrasts time constraints in formal peace implementation.

Interviewed by Kellogg Institute PhD Fellow Mayra Ortiz Ocaña, political scientists Wendy Hunter (University of Texas at Austin) and Benjamín Garcia Holgado (University of Delaware) discuss the resilience and challenges of democracy in Latin America, highlighting progress in reducing deforestation and military involvement while emphasizing the importance of maintaining democratic commitments and preventing violations. They also cover the growing military involvement in public security and governance, with a focus on the potential for actors to coordinate against populist leaders. Corruption, public insecurity, and inequality are identified as significant threats to democracy in the region.

Interviewed by Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate Patrick McQuestion, Helena Hofbauer Balmori of the Ford Foundation and James Long of the University of Washington discuss the significance of participation in democratic governance, with a focus on inclusive decision-making processes. Our guests highlight the role of inequality in the relationship between democracy and economic development and the weakening of democracy globally. They also discuss the rise of organized crime in Latin American politics and the need for further research on the deconstruction of judiciaries in countries like El Salvador and Guatemala. The conversation emphasizes the importance of context and the need for more research on understudied topics in the field of political science.

Interviewed by Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate Patrick McQuestion, political scientists Michael Coppedge (University of Notre Dame) and Brigitte Seim discuss measuring democracy through the Varieties of Democracy, or V-Dem, Project. V-Dem aims to conceptualize and measure different forms of democracy, emphasizing the importance of disaggregating data to gain a nuanced understanding of democratic trends. Our guests discuss the project's approach to conceptualization, the role of practitioner-academic partnerships, and the importance of measuring and mitigating anti-democratic phenomena online. They also explore various strategies for promoting democracy and addressing polarization, with a focus on understanding patterns of behavior in settings with malicious governments.

Interviewed by former Kellogg International Scholar Benjamín Rascón Grácia, political scientists María Isabel Puerta Riera (Valencia College) and Steven Lloyd Wilson (Brandeis University) discuss the manipulation of democratic processes through misinformation and disinformation in foreign and domestic contexts. They highlight the role of social media in spreading false information, the challenges of combating misinformation in the digital age, and the need for transparency, accountability, and critical thinking on social media platforms. They also emphasize the importance of government intervention to regulate social media and protect vulnerable groups from hate speech and discrimination.

Interviewed by Kellogg PhD Fellow Bill Kakenmaster, political scientists Christina Wolbrecht and Dave Campbell discuss democracy and the political landscape of the United States. The 2024 US presidential election is a crucial moment for democracy, with growing trends of election denialism and the potential for undermining democratic norms. The conversation highlights the significance of inclusivity in politics, with a focus on the impact of women in leadership roles on adolescents' attitudes towards democracy. Speakers discuss the ongoing debate on who belongs and whose voice gets heard, as well as the importance of adapting to changing demographics. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the normalization of political leadership roles and their impact on shaping attitudes towards democracy.

In this third episode of the Global Democracy Series, political scientists Laura Gamboa (University of Utah) and Kurt Weyland (University of Texas at Austin) reflect on the current state of democracy worldwide with Kellogg Institute Doctoral Affiliate Benjamin Francis. The speakers highlight some growing threats to democracy, such as the deleterious effects of economic crises, populism, and moral dilemmas to restraining anti-democratic behavior. They emphasize the importance of strategic decision-making to limit backsliding, as well as various institutional and extra-institutional strategies for protecting democracy.

This episode of our special Global Democracy Series features a conversation between Rachel Riedl, professor of international studies at Cornell University, and Joseph Asunka, chief executive officer at Afrobarometer, along with Kellogg PhD Fellow Rasheed Ibrahim on the recent military coups in Sub-Saharan Africa. They analyze the potential long-term consequences of these coups, the role of the military in democratic governance, the decline in citizens' commitment to democracy, and the structural constraints that limit the military's effectiveness in addressing security challenges.