Democracy Paradox

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Christophe Jaffrelot on Narendra Modi and Hindu Nationalism

Ashutosh Varshney on India. Democracy in Hard Places Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

Nehru is asked several times in those early years, ‘Aren’t you doing something which has never been done before? You are 17% literate. Half of your country is below the poverty line. Under such conditions no democracy has ever stabilize itself and perhaps has not emerged.’ And his argument repeatedly is that we shouldn't be constrained by the history of the West.

Ashutosh Varshney
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Ashutosh Varshney is the Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science at Brown University, where he also directs the Center for Contemporary South Asia. His chapter "India’s Democratic Longevity and Its Troubled Trajectory" appears in the forthcoming book Democracy in Hard Places.
Key Highlights

How India defied early theories of democratization
The role of leadership in India's early democracy
Why India returned to democracy after Indira Gandhi's emergency?
The eerie similarities between India's recent treatment of Muslims and the rise of the Jim Crow era in the American South
When will democratic backsliding in India become a democratic collapse

Key Links

"Modi Consolidates Power: Electoral Vibrancy, Mounting Liberal Deficits" by Ashutosh Varshney in Journal of Democracy

Learn more about Ashutosh Varshney at www.ashutoshvarshney.net

Follow Ashutosh Varshney on Twitter @ProfVarshney

Democracy in Hard Places edited by Scott Mainwaring and Tarek Masoud

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Dan Slater on Indonesia

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Nic Cheeseman and Gabrielle Lynch on the Moral Economy of Elections in Africa

Evan Lieberman on South Africa. Democracy in Hard Places Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

When you hear people talk in such disparaging tones, that everything is broken, that nothing is possible, you need to ask yourself, is that right? When you look around, the answer is no. There are these examples where things do go right, where people work together and create a neighborhood or a community for themselves in which they can be prosperous and build better lives. And that's really what the democratic project is all about.

Evan Lieberman
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Evan Lieberman is a Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Director of the MIT Global Diversity Lab, and the faculty director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). He is the coauthor with Rorisang Lekalake of the recent article "South Africa's Resilient Democracy" in the Journal of Democracy and author of the forthcoming book Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid.
Key Highlights

Why is Evan Lieberman optimistic about democracy in South Africa
Role of Nelson Mandela on South Africa's democracy
Importance of South Africa for democracy in the world
Account of the housing community Ethembalethu
What the 2019 election says about democracy in South Africa

Key Links

Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid by Evan Lieberman

"South Africa’s Resilient Democracy" by Evan Lieberman and Rorisang Lekalake in Journal of Democracy

Learn more about Evan Lieberman at www.evanlieberman.org

Follow Evan Lieberman on Twitter @evlieb

Democracy in Hard Places edited by Scott Mainwaring and Tarek Masoud

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Dan Slater on Indonesia

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Donald Horowitz on the Formation of Democratic Constitutions

Dan Slater on Indonesia. Democracy in Hard Places May 31, 2022

Show notes

This might sound like a cliche, but in Indonesia it's really, really true. My hope rests in the Indonesian people and the voters. I mean, the voters, they show up. The voters have been the ones to defend democracy. They've been the ones to reject the most anti-pluralistic candidates, not all Indonesian voters, but a slim majority. They've been managing to do it.

Dan Slater
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Dan Slater is the Weiser Professor of Emerging Democracies in the Department of Political Science and director of the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan. Dan is also the coauthor of the forthcoming book From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia with Joseph Wong.
Key Highlights

A brief account of how Indonesia democratized
What is democratization through strength
How elites held onto power after democratization
What makes Indonesia a hard place for democracy
The current state of Indonesia's democracy

Key Links

From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia by Dan Slater and Joseph Wong

Democracy in Hard Places edited by Scott Mainwaring and Tarek Masoud

Follow Dan Slater on Twitter @SlaterPolitics

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Sebastian Strangio Explains the Relationship Between China and Southeast Asia

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Moisés Naím on the New Dynamics of Political Power

Kathryn Stoner on How Putin's War has Ruined Russia May 24, 2022

Show notes

Boeing is pulling out, DuPont, Erickson, Analog Devices, Bombardier. Eventually all of these things are going to cause supply and production chain issues and unemployment in Russia. So, Mr. Putin doesn't have an infinite amount of time before havoc is wrought.

Kathryn Stoner
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Kathryn Stoner is the Mosbacher Director at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, a professor of political science at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is also the author of the book Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order. Her article “How Putin’s War Has Ruined Russia” was recently published online at journalofdemocracy.org.
Key Highlights

How has Russia's invasion of Ukraine affected perceptions of Russia's military
How has it affected its economy both short-term and long-term
How has it affected Russia's international standing
The affects on Russia's citizens
What does Putin's unpredictability mean for peace in Ukraine

Key Links

"How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia" by Kathryn Stoner in Journal of Democracy

Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Orderby Kathryn Stoner

Follow Kathryn Stoner on Twitter @kath_stoner

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Kathryn Stoner on Russia’s Economy, Politics, and Foreign Policy

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Ronald Deibert from Citizen Lab on Cyber Surveillance, Digital Subversion, and Transnational Repression

Scott Radnitz on Why Conspiracy Theories Thrive in Both Democracies and Autocracies May 17, 2022

Show notes

There's something natural and organic about perceiving that the people in power are out to advance their own interests. It's in part because it’s often true. Governments actually do keep secrets from the public. Politicians engage in scandals. There often is corruption at high levels. So, we don't want citizens in a democracy to be too trusting of their politicians. It's healthy to be skeptical of the state and its real abuses and tendencies towards secrecy. The danger is when this distrust gets redirected, not toward the state, but targets innocent people who are not actually responsible for people's problems.

Scott Radnitz
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
*Please note during the interview the host says "conspiracy" rather than "conspiracy theory." The transcript has been corrected.*
Scott Radnitz is an associate professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington and the director of the Ellison Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies. He is the author of Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region and coeditor with Harris Mylonas of the forthcoming book Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns. His article “Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories” was recently published in the Journal of Democracy.
Key Highlights

Conspiracy theories Russia uses to justify their invasion of Ukraine
Why Russia relies on conspiracy theories in its political rhetoric
The use of conspiracy theories in democracies and autocracies
The recent proliferation of conspiracy theories in the United States
How to mitigate the harmful effects of conspiracy theories in politics

Key Links

"Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories" by Scott Radnitz in Journal of Democracy

Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region by Scott Radnitz

Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns edited by Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Moisés Naím on the New Dynamics of Political Power

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Dan Banik is In Pursuit of Development May 13, 2022

Show notes

This bonus episode is part of a series of interviews available for monthly supporters of Democracy Paradox at Patreon. Other interviews feature guests like Julia Azari, Mila Atmos, and Bob Shrum. But more importantly you'll help the podcast cover important expenses and continue to grow. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter by clicking on the link here.
If you want to help the podcast in other ways, please email the host, Justin Kempf, at jkempf@democracyparadox.com.
Dan Banik is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo and Director of the Oslo SDG Initiative. He also hosts the podcast In Pursuit of Development. His podcast is among the most insightful on topics of democracy, modernization, and sustainability. Past guests have included Francis Fukuyama and Daron Acemoglu. But it's Dan's ability to help listeners understand complex ideas and subjects that sets his podcast apart.
In Pursuit of Development

Follow on Twitter @GlobalDevPod

Follow Dan on Twitter @danbanik

Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture "Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy" by Ronald Deibert

Ronald Deibert from Citizen Lab on Cyber Surveillance, Digital Subversion, and Transnational Repression May 10, 2022

Show notes

So, if your aim is to get inside someone's device without their permission and gather up information, you could do that using a very sophisticated commercial spyware technology like Pegasus. The latest iteration of it employs zero click technology meaning that it can target and insert itself on any device without the owner of that device even knowing or being tricked into clicking on a link. That's very powerful, because there is no defense against it.

Ronald Deibert
A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Ronald Deibert is a professor of political science at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Citizen Lab. He recently gave the 18th annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture at the National Endowment for Democracy. Its title was “Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy.” His article, “Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage” in the most recent Journal of Democracy is based on this lecture.
Support Democracy Paradox on Patreon for bonus episodes and exclusive updates and information.
Key Highlights

How Black Cube tried to infiltrate Citizen Lab
How autocrats continue to repress political dissidents overseas
The privatization of espionage and spycraft
The link between surveillance capitalism and private espionage
What liberal democracies can do to defend civil society

Key Links

Citizen Lab

"Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage" by Ronald Deibert in Journal of Democracy

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Can Democracy Survive the Internet? Nate Persily and Josh Tucker on Social Media and Democracy

Winston Mano on Social Media and Politics in Africa… And what America can Learn from Africa about Democracy

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Joseph Fishkin on the Constitution, American History, and Economic Inequality

Thomas Piketty on Equality May 03, 2022

Show notes

Pure economic factors or technological factors or the level of economic development or level of technological development cannot explain the diversity of levels of inequality and structure of inequality that we observe throughout history.

Thomas Piketty
A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Thomas Piketty is Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and the Paris School of Economics and Codirector of the World Inequality Lab. He is also the author of A Brief History of Equality.
Support Democracy Paradox on Patreon for bonus episodes and exclusive updates and information.
Key Highlights

The Case for Reparations for Haiti
An Account of the Historical Movement Toward Greater Equality
Economic Inequality as a Political Construction
Should Economic Equality be the Goal of the State?
Is Thomas Piketty Optimistic for the Future?

Key Links

A Brief History of Equalityby Thomas Piketty

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty

Follow Thomas Piketty on Twitter @PikettyLeMonde

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson on the Plutocratic Populism of the Republican Party

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