Democracy Paradox
Is it possible for a democracy to govern undemocratically? Can the people elect an undemocratic leader? Is it possible for democracy to bring about authoritarianism? And if so, what does this say about democracy? My name is Justin Kempf. Every week I talk to the brightest minds on subjects like international relations, political theory, and history to explore democracy from every conceivable angle. Topics like civil resistance, authoritarian successor parties, and the autocratic middle class challenge our ideas about democracy. Join me as we unravel new topics every week.
Episodes
211 episodes
The Last Episode. Elizabeth Saunders on How Democracies Wage War and Make Peace
We've often compared democratic national security and autocratic security making in terms of autocratic elites and democratic voters. My argument is not that all democracies are the same, but I do think we ought to be thinking about autocratic ...
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Season 1
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Episode 208
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52:51
When Democracy Breaks: Final Thoughts with Archon Fung, David Moss and Arne Westad
I think we've seen democracies can be unstable. Autocracies are even more unstable.David MossMade in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and InnovationGet your co...
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Season 1
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Episode 207
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53:01
When Democracy Breaks: Scott Mainwaring on Argentina
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 206
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52:01
When Democracy Breaks: 1930s Japan with Louise Young
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 YoungMade in partnership with the Ash Center for De...
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Season 1
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Episode 205
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45:03
When Democracy Breaks: Ancient Athens with Josiah Ober and Federica Carugati
What strikes me about that period is that democracy was not inevitable.Federica CarugatiMade in partnership with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and InnovationGet your copy ...
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Season 1
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Episode 204
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51:51
Alexander Keyssar on Why We Still Have the Electoral College
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 KeyssarMade in partnership with the
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Season 1
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Episode 203
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50:20
Robert Kagan on the Threat of Antiliberalism
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 imaginat...
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Season 1
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Episode 202
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49:35
Rep Mikie Sherrill on Whether the Bipartisan Consensus on Foreign Policy Will Hold and on Threats to American Democracy
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 SherrillThis episode was made in partnership with the
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Season 1
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Episode 201
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32:42
Saskia Brechenmacher on Promoting Gender Equality Through Democracy Assistance Aid
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?...
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Season 1
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Episode 200
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56:15
Democracy in a Postmodern Era with Bruce Ackerman
We have to reconstruct the foundations of our democracy, building on the past, not repudiating everything we're building on it.Bruce AckermanAccess Episodes Ad-Free on Patreon<...
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Season 1
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Episode 199
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47:01
Adam Casey on How Military Aid Can Stabilize and Destabilize Foreign Autocrats
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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Season 1
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Episode 198
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51:48
Disinformation is a Threat to Democracy Says Barbara McQuade
We have to care more about truth than tribe. We have to care more about each other than about profit.Barbara McQuadeThis episode was made in partnership with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the...
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Season 1
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Episode 197
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49:01
Grading Biden's Foreign Policy with Alexander Ward
Whoever you vote for, Biden or Trump at this point, you are voting for a radically different vision of American foreign policy.Alexander WardAccess Episodes Ad-Free on Patreon<...
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Season 1
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Episode 196
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52:44
Peter Pomerantsev on Winning an Information War
All this stuff about half of America just won't listen to this. You're just not trying. You're just not trying. I fear in America people don't try to reach people in echo chambers.Peter Pomerantsev
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Season 1
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Episode 195
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48:22
Is Democracy Still in Decline? Yana Gorokhovskaia on the Freedom in the World Report
Without an elected government, without a government that truly represents... a lot of things are imperiled - rights, democracy, freedom, certainly peace. I think that's another kind of challenge as we go into this year of widespread elections. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 194
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46:00
When We Misread Dictators... Steve Coll on Saddam Hussein and the American Invasion of Iraq
As a writer I had the space to try to humanize him without sanitizing him. That was my mission: to try to see the world from behind his eyes in order to explain his otherwise inexplicable behavior.Steve Coll
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Season 1
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Episode 193
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57:36
Why is the Immigration System Broken? Jonathan Blitzer on How American Foreign Policy in Central America Created a Crisis
Written into the DNA of American immigration policy, which we tend to regard as a kind of domestic policy - and which in many ways it is - has to do with US foreign policy.Jonathan BlitzerThis episode was made in partnership with...
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Season 1
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Episode 192
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54:47
The Surveillance State in China Began With Mao Says Minxin Pei
I think a powerful surveillance apparatus will continue to be a major obstacle to the development of democratic forces, but it will not be the decisive factor.Minxin PeiProudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International...
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Season 1
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Episode 191
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43:01
After a Coup, Can the Constitutional Order Be Repaired? Adem Abebe on Rebuilding Constitutions in West Africa
As democracy promoters, we also need to pay a lot of attention to the material needs of people... When these material needs are not satisfied, people will be more willing to give nondemocratic forms a chance.Adem AbebeThis episod...
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Season 1
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Episode 190
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54:36
Can Poland Repair its Constitutional Democracy? Tomás Daly Believes it Can
Poland will be showing us the endless ingenuity of constitutional thinkers who are genuinely committed to democracy in its many forms.Tomás DalyThis episode was made in partnership with the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 189
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51:11
Simon Shuster on Zelensky in War and Peace
I think his heart is in the right place. I've talked to him about these things. He's very sensitive to the judgment of history. He knows that. Ukraine has been fighting since long before he became president to be an independent sovereign democr...
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Season 1
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Episode 188
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49:26
Marcela Rios Tobar on the Failed Constitutional Process in Chile
When politics has to solve the problems that it has caused, how can politics do that?Marcela Rios TobarThis episode was made in partnership with the Constitution Building Programme at Intern...
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Season 1
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Episode 187
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50:28
Kurt Weyland on the Resilience of Democracy
Populist leaders want polarization. They start polarization. They confront. Kurt WeylandProudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd...
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Season 1
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Episode 186
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52:35
Is a New Jim Crow Emerging in India? Ashutosh Varshney Gives a Warning
That's the point here. It's not there yet. But if electorally the BJP keeps winning, this is a prospect that must be faced.Ashutosh VarshneyProudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at
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Season 1
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Episode 185
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42:10
Does Democracy Rely on a Civic Bargain? Josiah Ober Makes the Case
What we really need to do is recommit to the idea that this is difficult, it is valuable, and in order to keep this valuable, difficult thing going, we need to basically pay the cost of educating ourselves, educating the next generation, the ba...
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Season 1
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Episode 184
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52:24