democracy - Dissent Magazine

Against the Technocrats

Sheri Berman ▪ Winter 2018

Pundits fretting about a “tyranny of the majority” would do well to remember that democracy has always been a precondition of liberalism—not the other way around.

[EVENT | October 5–6] The Crisis of Democracy

Editors ▪ September 29, 2017

Join the Albert Shanker Institute, Dissent, and many more for a two-day conference on the Crisis of Democracy, October 5–6 in Washington, D.C.

Hong Kong’s New Normal

Denise Y. Ho ▪ August 23, 2017

Last week’s imprisonment of three pro-democracy student leaders acutely illustrates the tightening space for civil society in the territory.

Bringing Power to the People: The Unlikely Case for Utility Populism

Kate Aronoff ▪ Summer 2017

Some 42 million Americans get their power from rural electric cooperatives. Reforming them could bring energy democracy to the Heartland—and fight climate change in the process.

Why Protecting Journalists is Critical for Mexico’s Democracy

Paul Imison ▪ June 15, 2017

Javier Valdez was the sixth journalist murdered in Mexico so far this year. What will it take for his killers to see justice?

Did Turkey’s Democracy Devour Itself?

Turkuler Isiksel ▪ April 18, 2017

Voters worldwide have been making some alarming decisions lately, but none have gone so far as to vote democracy itself out of existence. On Sunday, Turkey seems to have done just that.

The Logic of Populism

Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins ▪ Spring 2017

Jan-Werner Müller’s understanding of populism is built on a theory of anti-totalitarianism designed for an enemy that no longer exists.

Booked: The End of Managerial Liberalism, with K. Sabeel Rahman

Timothy Shenk ▪ November 30, 2016

K. Sabeel Rahman talks about his new book Democracy against Domination, and why liberals need to recover a language of economic power.

Authoritarian Democracy: A Playbook

Nick Robinson ▪ November 14, 2016

From India to Turkey to the Philippines, authoritarian-leaning leaders of major world democracies have refined a set of strategies to make their countries less democratic. Here are five common tactics to watch out for.

Prepare For Regime Change, Not Policy Change

Turkuler Isiksel ▪ November 13, 2016

Lessons from the autocrats’ toolkit.

America’s Other Election

Gary Gerstle ▪ Fall 2016

Rolling back Republican domination in the states will not be easy. But it is a battle that must be joined.

Rethinking Populism

John B. Judis ▪ Fall 2016

Donald Trump’s candidacy may have peaked. But, from the United States to Britain and beyond, the discontent fueling the far right won’t fade so quickly. Can a new, left-wing populism seize on it—and rebuild democracy in the process?

Into the Institutions

David V. Johnson ▪ August 16, 2016

The left neglects the institutional structures of democracy at its own peril. In his latest book, political theorist Jeremy Waldron offers a welcome corrective.