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Justin Kempf


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.


Democracy Paradox

Episode 1: The inaugural episode explores Hannah Arendt's book The Origins of Totalitarianism. This is the only monologue in the series. Every other episode features a guest interview. It focuses on the distinction between the law and the state. Arendt loosely defines totalitarianism as the presence of the state in absence of law. 

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Monologue on Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism

Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon are the authors of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order. We had a 90 minute conversation on some important topics for the study of international relations. The first part discusses some key concepts in their book like "hegemony" and the "liberal world order." Dan and Alex both give a great overview that is ideal for beginners but also informative for those who have a strong background in the topic. 

The rest of the podcast explores a number of topics. We discuss Russia and China, kleptocracy, Viktor Orbán and, of course, Donald Trump. This podcast is ideal not just for those immersed in conversations about foreign affairs, but also undergraduate students or those with a genuine interest in foreign policy. The discussion brings together current events with broader concepts of theory in a lively conversation.

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written over 60 reviews of classics and recent works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed The Orbán Regime: Plebiscitary Leader Democracy in the Making by András Körösényi, Gábor Illés, and Attila Gyulai. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes. 

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon on the End of American Hegemony

Takis Pappas is the author of Populism and Liberal Democracy: A Comparative and Theoretical Analysis. We have an hour long conversation about populism, liberalism and democracy. The interview lays out some of these key concepts but also includes some discussion of specific examples including Orban, Trump and Greece. We talk quite a bit about the concept of charismatic leadership. Takis gives a broad overview of populism that is ideal for undergraduates, but also interesting for those with a strong background in the study of populism. 

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Karl Marx's second volume Capital. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Takis Pappas on Populism and Liberal Democracy

This episode features William S. Smith, author of Democracy and Imperialism: Irving Babbitt and Warlike Democracies. Irving Babbitt is an underappreciated political theorist. He wrote the classic Democracy and Leadership in 1924 before the Behavioralist Revolution of the 1950s so his work is often overlooked by contemporary political scientists. Babbitt has an enormous influence on conservative political theory and philosophy. His ideas about democracy, leadership and imperialism are as relevant for discussion today than ever before. His focus on character and virtue in political leaders has never been more salient than it has been during the global pandemic. 

The podcast discusses many important theorists of political thought and philosophy including Rousseau, Huntington and Hobbes. We discuss how some of Babbitt's thought applies to current and historical events. We discuss the Iraq War, Ukraine and touch on Trump's own style of leadership. 

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Campaigns and Voters in Developing Democracies: Argentina in Comparative Perspective. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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William S. Smith on Irving Babbitt

The seventh episode of the Democracy Paradox focuses on the secondary effects of direct democracy with Joshua (Josh) J. Dyck and Edward (Ted) L. Lascher, Jr. Their recent book Initiatives without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy’s Secondary Effects. Typically, initiative referendums are discussed as a philosophical component of direct democracy. Josh and Ted focus on empirical data to show how initiatives have secondary effects with negative consequences. It is a distinct look at a topic many of us (falsely) believe we fully comprehend. 

The podcast examines the three key findings of their research in the book, but extends to many larger big picture topics. We discuss Brexit, Switzerland (including their failure to extend the franchise to women until 1971), and I even find a way sneak Robert Dahl into the conversation. Our conversation engages with core issues of politics including democracy, institutions, and even the rights of minorities. 

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Antonio Gramsci's Selections from Political Writings 1921-1926. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Joshua J. Dyck and Edward L. Lascher, Jr. on Initiative Referendums

The eighth episode of the Democracy Paradox features Israeli scholar Yael Tamir as we discuss her recent book Why Nationalism. Yael Tamir offers a refreshing look at nationalism as she looks to reclaim the concept from conservatives. We delve into some of the important concepts of her book but also apply these ideas to current events including the pandemic, Catalan separatism, and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Tamir studied under the intellectual giant Isaiah Berlin at Oxford. She explains how Berlin became her mentor because nobody else was interested in her dissertation on nationalism!!! We discuss some of Berlin's ideas and his influence on her ideas near the end of the podcast. 

Thanks to Apes of the State for permission to use their tracks "The Internet Song" and "Plate Glass Apology. You can find their music on Spotify or their Bandcamp. Thanks to James Schneider and Princeton University Press for helping me connect with Yael Tamir. They also provided me a review copy of her book. 

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Isaiah Berlin's Against the Current. It is a great companion to Tamir's work Why Nationalism. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Yael Tamir on Nationalism

The ninth episode revisits the initiative referendum except it introduces an important twist. John Gastil and Katherine Knobloch are the authors of Hope for Democracy: How Citizens Can Bring Reason Back into Politics. They consider how the idea of deliberative democracy was able to influence initiative referendums through a new institution called the Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR). This was a reform brought to life in Oregon a few years ago. 

John and Katie help us understand this specific reform but also discuss the broader idea of deliberative democracy. It is easy to get lost in the details of any specific reform initiative for democracy. But this discussion brings to life how ordinary people have been able to bring ideas to life and make a small difference in how democracy is shaped. 

This is a good sequel for the episode with Joshua Dyck and Edward Lascher. They were pessimistic about initiative referendums. This episode offers a path to soften some of those concerns. But as we discuss near the end, the idea of deliberative democracy has been introduced into many avenues of government, education, and even private enterprise. 

John Gastil (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences and Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University, where he is a senior scholar at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Gastil’s research focuses on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, especially how small groups of people make decisions on public issues. The National Science Foundation has supported his research on the Oregon Citizens’ Initiative Review, the Australian Citizens’ Parliament, jury deliberation, and cultural cognition. His other recent books include Legislature by Lot and his debut novel, Gray Matters. He was born in San Diego, California, where his father ran for US Congress in 1976 and his mother followed suit in 1992-94. Raised as a Quaker, it’s fitting that he now lives in State College, Pennsylvania.

Katherine R. Knobloch is an assistant professor and the associate director of the Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) in the Department of Communication Studies at Colorado State University. At the CPD Knobloch trains undergraduates in civic engagement and facilitation and works with community partners to design and implement public forums. She studies the development, evaluation, and impact of deliberative public processes, with a focus on how the emergence of deliberative institutions alters communities and individuals. Her research has appeared in numerous academic publications, including Politics, American Politics Research, and the Journal of Applied Communication Research. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Washington and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Louisiana State University. She was born and raised in the bayou region of Southern Louisiana and developed her interest in political structures while watching her father and grandfather navigate small-town electoral politics. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband and two young children.

Thanks to Apes of the State for permission to use their tracks "The Internet Song" and "Plate Glass Apology. You can find their music on Spotify or their Bandcamp. Thanks to 

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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John Gastil and Katherine Knobloch on Citizen Initiative Review

Many scholars use the interwar period as a cautionary tale of democratic breakdown and collapse, but it was also a period of remarkable democratic stability in an age of crisis. Agnes Cornell and Svend-Eric Skaaning join your host, Justin Kempf, to discuss the first era of widespread democratization, the interwar period. The conversation focuses on their research and discusses some specific examples from this period including Denmark, Uruguay, and Czechoslovakia. 

Political science typically aims to make sense of recent world events. But there are many scholars who approach historical events from a perspective of comparative politics. The book Democratic Stability in an Age of Crisis: Reassessing the Interwar Period is a work of comparative politics, but it will capture the imagination of historians and political scientists alike because the lessons from this period help make sense of events in our own time. 

Agnes Cornell is Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Gothenburg. Svend-Eric Skaaning is Professor of Political Science, Aarhus University. Along with Jørgen Møller they are the authors of Democratic Stability in an Age of Crisis: Reassessing the Interwar Period from Oxford University Press. 

Thanks to Apes of the State for permission to use their tracks "The Internet Song" and "Plate Glass Apology. You can find their music on Spotify or their Bandcamp. Thanks to Oxford University Press who has made many volumes available to me during the pandemic.

Take the time to visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Carl Schmitt's The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy. It is a great companion to understand the political thought during the interwar period. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Agnes Cornell and Svend-Erik Skaaning on the Interwar Period

My conversation with Juliet explores what is called the sharing economy. Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb have transformed the economy and reshaped what it means to work. We discuss her book After The Gig: How the Sharing Economy got Hijacked and How to Win it Back. It explores the impacts of these platforms on society. The discussion delves into topics like race, class, and the ways good intentions so often produce the wrong results. 

This is not necessarily an episode about politics. But my blog has long explored economics, sociology, and other disciplines to better understand different aspects of democracy. Platforms like Uber and Airbnb are not simply organizations. They have become institutions that change our relationships to work and each other. Juliet and I never explicitly discuss democracy, but I have long argued any change in institutions has repercussions on democracy. 

Juliet Schor is a New York Times-bestselling author. She is currently Professor of Sociology at Boston College. Before joining Boston College she taught in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Schor is an internationally known scholar of labor, consumption, and environment. She is a former Guggenheim and Radcliffe Institute Fellow, recipient of the Leontief Prize in Economics, and the Public Understanding of Sociology Award from the American Sociology Association. She is the Chair of the Board of the Better Future Project.

Thanks to Apes of the State for permission to use their tracks "The Internet Song" and "Plate Glass Apology. You can find their music on Spotify or their Bandcamp. Thanks to Brianne Kane who took the time to introduce me to Juliet.

Please visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed Niccolò Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Juliet B. Schor on the Sharing Economy

A few fun disclaimers. I am a graduate of the Kelley School of Business MBA program where Jill Long Thompson teaches. My wife is a graduate of the Master's program at the School of Public and Environmental Affaits (SPEA) where Jill also works. And yet, we did not know each other before I reached out to her about the podcast. 

But I did know of her because she is widely known in Indiana for a long record of distinguished public service. She served three terms in Congress representing Indiana’s fourth district. She has been a nominee of the Democratic Party for Senate and Governor. She served as the Under Secretary of Agriculture under Bill Clinton and as the CEO of the Farm Credit Administration under Barak Obama. More recently, she teaches at Indiana University and is the author of The Character of American Democracy: Preserving Our Past, Protecting Our Future.

The conversation focuses on the way character and ethics are fundamental for democratic governance. We talk a bit about the ways character and ethics are important for leaders. It is interesting to hear how she believes character and ethics are not independent of public policy. The kind of character leaders have influences the policies they recommend and the performance of governance. But we also discuss the importance of character for citizens.

This is an episode with practical importance and real world applications. Jill gives a few insights from her time in public service including a personal account of the Honorable John Lewis at the end of the episode. This is an important conversation for those in leadership positions in the public or private sector. 

Thanks to Apes of the State for permission to use their tracks "The Internet Song" and "Plate Glass Apology." You can find their music on Spotify or their Bandcamp. Thanks to Indiana University Press for my copy of The Character of American Democracy.

Please visit my blog at www.democracyparadox.com. I have written 70 reviews of both classic and contemporary works of political science with an emphasis on democracy. This week I reviewed E.B. White's On Democracy. It is a great companion to reflect on the role of character in a democracy. Please visit the website and read my book reviews. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with future episodes.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Jill Long Thompson on Character in a Democracy

Putin in the past could claim to have won at least an honest plurality, if not an honest majority of votes given his approval. However, in the upcoming election this fall, in September, it looks like the Kremlin has so restricted political competition that it's going to be a difficult sell to the Russian public to show that these elections are even as legitimate as the elections held in 2016 or in 2011.

Timothy Frye

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on personalism here.

Timothy Frye is a Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University and a research director at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Key Highlights Include

 • Is Putin's popularity real?
 • Why Russia holds elections at all
 • Description of Russia as a personalist autocracy
 • How autocracy shapes Russia's foreign policy
 • What are the prospects for democratization in Russia

Key Links

Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia by Timothy Frye

Russia's Weak Strongman: The Perilous Bargains That Keep Putin in Power by Timothy Frye in Foreign Affairs

Follow Timothy Frye on Twitter @timothymfrye

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100 Books on Democracy

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/
 
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Timothy Frye Says Putin is a Weak Strongman

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