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Democracy Paradox — Government
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.

Copyright: © 2026 Democracy Paradox

Latest Episodes:

Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

One of the things that we see happening online is sort of a democratization of propaganda.
Samuel Woolley
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Samuel Woolley is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and the project director for propaganda research at the Center for Media Engagement. His most recent book is Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:43
Background on Technology (including Bots) - 3:00
Artificial Intelligence - 10:17
Democratization of Propaganda - 20:44
The Legitimation of Ideas - 30:48

Key Links
Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity by Samuel Woolley
"Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers" in the Journal of Democracy by Samuel Woolley
Center for Media Engagement
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Richard Wike Asked Citizens in 19 Countries Whether Social Media is Good for Democracy
Ronald Deibert from Citizen Lab on Cyber Surveillance, Digital Subversion, and Transnational Repression
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Apes of the State created all Music
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Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Josh Chin on China's Surveillance State Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

It's hard to believe what was happening in Xinjiang and most Chinese people didn't believe, but now they do. A lot of them do.
Josh Chin
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Josh Chin is the Deputy Bureau Chief for China at the Wall Street Journal and the coauthor with Liza Lin of the book Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:38
Describing Xinjiang - 2:38
Social Engineering - 11:21
Privacy in China - 19:08
AI in China - 28:23

Key Links
Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control by Josh Chin and Liza Lin
Read more from Josh Chin in the Wall Street Journal
"The Mandarin in the Machine" A review of Surveillance State in Journal of Democracy by Will Dobson
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Elizabeth Economy in a Wide Ranging Conversation About China
Aynne Kokas on the Intersection Between Surveillance Capitalism and Chinese Sharp Power (or How Much Does the CCP Already Know About You?)
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Apes of the State created all Music
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Staffan Lindberg with a Report on Democracy in the World Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Democracy dies with the lies. Even that simplest form of democracy, which is that we vote on a politician or we don't and we vote on another politician depends on the truth. Because if you can lie about what you did in office or lie about what you didn't do, that sort of vertical accountability breaks down. It becomes meaningless.

Staffan Lindberg
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Staffan Lindberg is the Director of the V-Dem Institute, one of the five principal investigators of the Varieties of Democracy Project, and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg. He is also a coeditor of the book Why Democracies Develop and Declinealong with Michael Coppedge, Amanda B. Edgell, and Carl Henrik Knutsen.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:46
Bright Spots for Democracy - 3:24
Autocratization and Democratic Backsliding - 13:20
Causes of Democratic Recession - 22:25
Criticisms of the Report - 34:56

Key Links
Why Democracies Develop and Decline edited by Michael Coppedge, Amanda B. Edgell, Carl Henrik Knutsen, and Staffan Lindberg
Learn more about V-DEM
"A Third Wave of Autocratization is Here: What is New About it?" in Democratization by Anna Lührmann and Staffan Lindberg
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Michael Coppedge on Why Democracies Emerge, Why They Decline, and Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
Sarah Repucci from Freedom House with an Update on Freedom in the World
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Apes of the State created all Music
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Srdja Popovic on Dilemma Actions Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

It is one Putin when you see him on a calendar. It's yet another Putin when he needs to arrest a snowman.

Srdja Popovic
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Srdja Popovic is the co-founder of CANVAS, and was a founding member of the Otpor! (“Resistance!”) a movement that had a crucial part in bringing down the Milosevic regime in Serbia. He recently coauthored an article in the Journal of Democracy with Sophia McClennen and Joe Wright called, “How to Sharpen a Nonviolent Movement.”
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:27
What are Dilemma Actions? 2:24
Different Types of Dilemma Actions - 18:53
Effectiveness - 33:01
Strategies and Tactics - 38:37

Key Links
"How to Sharpen a Nonviolent Movement" in the Journal of Democracy by Sophia McClennen, Srdja Popovic, and Joseph Wright
Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World by Srdja Popovic with Matthew Miller
Learn more about CANVAS
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Mohammed Ali Kadivar on Paths to Durable Democracy and Thoughts on the Protests in Iran
Erica Chenoweth on Civil Resistance
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Apes of the State created all Music
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Wendy Hunter on Lula, Bolsonaro, January 8th and Democracy in Brazil Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

I do want to underscore this should not be read as a victory of the left. It's a victory of Lula and a narrow victory. And it's Lula the person. It's not so much Lula from the PT as the party that won.

Wendy Hunter
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Wendy Hunter is a Professor of Government at the University of Texas Austin. Recently, she cowrote an article with Timothy Power in the Journal of Democracy called “Lula’s Second Act.”
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:36
Lula - 2:16
The 2022 Presidential Election - 13:01
Bolsonaro - 20:45
January 8th - 27:18

Key Links

"Lula's Second Act" in the Journal of Democracy by Wendy Hunter and Timothy J. Power

"Bolsonaro and Brazil’s Illiberal Backlash" in the Journal of Democracy by Wendy Hunter and Timothy J. Power

"The Normalization of an Anomaly: The Workers' Party in Brazil" in World Politics by Wendy Hunter

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Jennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in Chile

Amy Erica Smith on Politics and Religion in Brazil

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Apes of the State created all Music

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100 Books on Democracy

Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Jennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in Chile Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

I think voters right now, remember the circus of the convention over the substance of what it did. I think there is a bit of an amnesia over the mandate for change that existed in 2019 and 2020 that the Constitution delivered on, that voters had moved away from that mandate to change by the time the Constitution went for approval.

Jennifer Piscopo
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Jennifer Piscopo is an associate professor of politics at Occidental College. Recently, she coauthored a paper with Peter Siavelis in the Journal of Democracy called “Chile’s Constitutional Chaos.”
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:42
Demands for a New Constitution - 3:04
The Constitution Making Process - 17:18
Substance of the Constitution - 33:29
Why Voters Rejected it - 36:53

Key Links
"Chile's Constitutional Chaos" in Journal of Democracy by Peter M. Siavelis and Jennifer Piscopo
Learn more about Jennifer Piscopo here
Follow Jennifer Piscopo on Twitter @jennpiscopo
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Aldo Madariaga on Neoliberalism, Democratic Deficits, and Chile
Donald Horowitz on the Formation of Democratic Constitutions
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Apes of the State created all Music
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

I think democracy and capitalism are individually in crisis in that they're not working very well and that the combination of the two in one political and economic system, which we have come to think of as the Western Way, is in crisis not only because the two component parts are in crisis, but because they're in crisis interactively.

Martin Wolf
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Martin Wolf is the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. He has written many books, but his most recent is The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:51
The Link Between Democracy and Capitalism - 3:10
Does Capitalism Reinforce Democracy? 16:50
Status Anxiety - 26:13
Populism- 38:55

Key Links
The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf
Read Martin Wolf's writings at the Financial Times
Follow Martin Wolf on Twitter @martinwolf_

Democracy Paradox Podcast
Francis Fukuyama Responds to Liberalism’s Discontents
Larry Diamond on Supporting Democracy in the World and at Home
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Apes of the State created all Music
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Anna Grzymala-Busse on the Sacred Foundations of Modern Politics Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

While war creates the need for a state, it obliterates the capacity to deliver one. We're seeing that in Ukraine right now. That if you want to develop a state, you need peace, not war. War may create the need for a state, but peace is what allows you to build one. I think that that might be a lesson worth emphasizing, especially these days.

Anna Grzymala-Busse
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Anna Grzymała-Busse is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies at Stanford University. She is also the Director of the Europe Center and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Her latest book is Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:38
Medieval Governance - 2:42
Papal Strategies - 16:43
Law, Taxation, and Representation - 25:07
Ongoing Influences - 40:25

Key Links
Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State by Anna Grzymala-Busse
Follow Anna Grzymala-Busse on Twitter @AnnaGBusse
Learn more about Anna Grzymala-Busse
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Olivier Zunz on Alexis de Tocqueville
David Stasavage on Early Democracy and its Decline
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Apes of the State created all Music
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

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Francis Fukuyama Responds to Liberalism's Discontents Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

I think that there is a core set of shared values that liberals have to embrace. You know, if they don't believe in a rule of law, they don't believe in the fundamental legitimacy of their constitutional order, that's a big problem. But as I said, probably the strongest argument in favor of liberalism is this pragmatic one. That this is something that allows pluralistic diverse societies to live in peace with one another.

Francis Fukuyama
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:47
Interpretation of Liberalism - 3:04
Liberalism and Democracy - 17:15
Conservative Critique - 26:22
Threats to Liberalism - 39:16

Key Links

Liberalism and its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama
Learn more about Francis Fukuyama
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Michael Walzer on Liberal as an Adjective
Patrick Deneen Offers a Powerful Critique of Liberalism
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Democracy Group
Apes of the State created all Music
Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com
Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast
100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Support the show

Patrick Deneen Offers a Powerful Critique of Liberalism Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

By my reading of political philosophy every regime in a sense ultimately comes to an end because its contradictions ultimately undermine whatever virtues it might have had. I don't have a crystal ball, but I think it's a very real possibility that we're in a hinge of history where the next thing is in the offing and my hope is that that next thing is going to be a better and more humane way of organizing our society because the prospects of a worse and less humane way is also ever real and ever worrying.

Patrick Deneen
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Patrick Deneen is a Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame University. He is the author of Why Liberalism Failedand the forthcoming Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:51
Deneen's Critique of Liberalism - 2:57
Human Rights - 14:06
Democracy - 25:18
Why Not Reform or Repair - 37:38

Key Links

Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen

Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future by Patrick Deneen

Postliberal Order Substack

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Michael Walzer on Liberal as an Adjective

Olivier Zunz on Alexis de Tocqueville

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Democracy Group

Apes of the State created all Music

Email the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.com

Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast

100 Books on Democracy

Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Support the show

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