RevDem Podcast

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Darrin M. McMahon – author of the new book Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea – discusses his approach to the intellectual history of equality on the longue durée and explains why we shouldn’t think of this history as a triumphant march of progress; highlights the tensions between difference and sameness and explores the changing relationship between liberty and equality; and reflects on the globalization of our concern with equality – and our human ambivalence towards this resilient idea. 

Darrin M. McMahon is a historian, author, and public speaker who acts as the Mary Brinsmead Wheelock Professor of History at Dartmouth College. He is the author of three previous books respectively titled Enemies of the Enlightenment: The French Counter-Enlightenment and the Making of Modernity (2001); Happiness: A History (2006); and Divine Fury: A History of Genius (2013). He is also the editor or co-editor of the volumes Rethinking Modern European Intellectual History (2013); Genealogies of Genius (2017); and History and Human Flourishing (2022).

Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea is published by Basic Books.

Why the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty was a significant moment for the EU? Who are the right-wing populists in the EU and how has their modus operandi changed throughout the decades? Why did the national leaders engage in the EU politics? In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Dermot Hodson talks about his most recent book Circle of Stars. A History of the EU and the People Who Made It published by Yale University Press.

In this RevDem podcast episode for the Democracy and Culture section, RevDem assistant editor Karen Culver speaks with Clement Akpang about his research into European museums and how their displays can mitigate or exacerbate perceptions of social inequalities in post-colonial settings. 

In conversation with Flora Hevesi Ruzha Smilova explores Bulgaria's complex and ongoing political crisis, which has left a profound mark on the country's political landscape.

The stalemate began in 2021, stemming from widespread public dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party. The ensuing period of instability was marked by difficulties in forming and maintaining a stable majority coalition government: Bulgaria faced five elections in two years, most recently in April 2023. The crisis has been characterized by an increasingly fragmented political landscape and a polarized society, and by constantly shifting power dynamics between GERB as the status quo and a new anti-corruption wave represented by the centrist parties of We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria.

 This period provides a unique case study in democratic resilience, political uncertainty and the challenges of coalition building in parliamentary systems. The recent elections were won by GERB, which managed to reach a compromise with We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria to form a new coalition government with a rotating prime minister. Nevertheless, the situation remains highly unstable, and a major new event is looming on the horizon: the upcoming local elections in October, which will be another crucial test for Bulgaria's political parties.

Ruzha Smilova teaches political theory at Sofia University and is a program director at the Center for Liberal Strategies, an independent Bulgarian think tank. Her academic research is focused on the authority of democracy, normative and positive theories of democracy, democratic erosion, and illiberalism.

The monograph The Abuse of Constitutional Identity in the European Union (OUP, 2023) by Julian Scholtes (Lecturer in Public Law, University of Glasgow) was published in September. In this latest RevDem Rule of law podcast, Oliver discuss constitutional identity and its implications for the Rule of Law and democracy in Europe today.

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Yascha Mounk – author of the new book The Identity Trap. A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time – discusses how the identity synthesis has been created and gone mainstream; why he considers this synthesis dangerous and counterproductive; what he sees as key advantages of a liberal, more universalistic approach; and whether the ‘battle of ideas’ between the identity synthesis and liberalism is shaping up to be the defining contest of our time. Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic and Herausgeber (publisher) of the German weekly Die Zeit. He is also the Founder of Persuasion and host of the podcast The Good Fight. Yascha Mounk is the author of five books.
The Identity Trap. A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time has been published by Penguin Press.

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Melvin Rogers – author of the new book The Darkened Light of Faith. Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought – introduces the thinkers he has studied and explains why he chose to engage with their ideas; discusses the normative vision of African American thinkers and what makes that vision distinctive; clarifies his own approach and analytical vocabulary; reflects on his inspirations and the connections between his recent books; and suggests critical responsiveness as an essential element of democracy.
Melvin Rogers is Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at
Brown University.
The Darkened Light of Faith. Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought is published by Princeton University Press.