Explore " liberal democracy" with insightful episodes like "A Conversation with Khadija Khan", "Can liberal democracies 'be friends' with authoritarian states?", "These Times Demand a Clear-Eyed Look at Threats to America. Stanford’s Frank Fukuyama Provides It. (#133)", "Ronald Daniels on the Role of Universities in Strengthening Democracy" and "The Genealogy of Illiberalism" from podcasts like ""Modes of Inquiry with Mathew Giagnorio", "Big Ideas", "3 Takeaways", "Democracy in Question?" and "Democracy in Question?"" and more!
I'm joined by Khadija Khan for a thought-provoking discussion on Islamism in the UK and France and compare it to Canada and Quebec, and the current Israel—Palestine conflict. All this and more on MOI!
Thanks, Khadija!
How can liberal democracies create a working partnership with authoritarian states â and at the same time maintain their values and succeed as open societies offering political freedom? For some years now, we have seen the splintering of the post war system of international order. The number of authoritarian states around the world is growing, and China is becoming an increasingly important player. The rise of Vladimir Putin and the struggles of Hong Kong offer valuable lessons about how to deal with authoritarian regimes.
Are liberal democracies in long-term decline? Why is the U.S. so intensely polarized and how can it recover from it? What is the serious problem with identity politics? Internationally acclaimed political scientist and author, Stanford’s Frank Fukuyama, has valuable answers.
Guests featured in this episode:
Ronald Daniels, the President of Johns Hopkins University, as well as a board member of the Central European University. His numerous accomplishments include the Order of Canada awarded to him in 2016 and his election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. During his tenure as President, Johns Hopkins University has consistently ranked at the top for its interdisciplinary research and innovation, enhanced student access, as well as community engagement. It thus serves as a true model for a research university in the 21st century.
Last year, Ron Daniels published an agenda-setting book, "What Universities Owe Democracy." It makes a compelling and a passionate case for universities to be engaged in preserving and strengthening democratic achievements that are under threat, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Glossary:
What is the Pell Grant program?
(11:34 or p.4 in the transcript)
The Pell Grant is a form of need-based federal financial aid awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to help eligible low-income students pay for college costs, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other educational expenses. The Pell Grant is the largest grant program offered by the Department of Education to undergraduate students. Created in 1972, the federal Pell Grant program has been awarding grants to students since the 1973-1974 school year. It was named after Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, the chief sponsor of the program. To be eligible, students must demonstrate exceptional financial need, be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen and have not yet received a bachelor's, graduate or professional degree. While graduate students are not typically eligible for Pell Grant aid, in some cases students seeking a post-baccalaureate teacher certification may be eligible. The Pell Grant generally does not need to be repaid, but there are some exceptions, such as in case of withdrawing from courses or changing enrollment status after a Pell Grant award has been disbursed. Students may lose Pell Grant eligibility entirely if they withdraw from courses, do not maintain enrollment status or fail to continue making academic progress, which can include GPA requirements set by individual institutions. source
What is the K-12 education?
(14:43 or p.4 in the transcript)
The K-12 system stands for ‘from kindergarten to 12th grade’. This equates roughly to a school starting age of around five through to Grade 12 at around the age of 18. The system is broken down into three stages: elementary school (Grades K–5), middle school (Grades 6–8) and high school (Grades 9–12). In the United States, education is primarily the responsibility of state and local government. Every state has its own department of education and laws regarding finance, the hiring of school personnel, student attendance and curriculum. States also determine the number of years of compulsory education – in some states, education is only compulsory until the age of 16. In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which pledged to offer the same standard of education to every child in the US “regardless of race, income, background, the zip code, or where they live”. The act replaced the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 and, among other things, is an attempt to bring back some element of control with the recommendation for having fewer tests. source
Guests featured in this episode:
Renata Uitz, is the co-editor of Handbook of Illiberalism, who has contributed two chapters to it as well. Renata is also professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the Central European University, Vienna, as well as the co-director of its Democracy Institute in Budapest.
Helena Rosenblatt is a professor of history, French, and political theory at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York, and the author of both Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion andThe Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century. Helena has also submitted an article on “The History of Illiberalism” in the Routledge Handbook of Illiberalism (2022).
Glossary
What was the Reign of Terror?
(pg. 2 of the transcript or 00:7:58)
The Reign of Terror (June 1793 – July 1794) was a period in the French revolution characterized by brutal repression. The Terror originated with a centralized political regime that suspended most of the democratic achievements of the revolution, and intended to pursue the revolution on social matters. Its stated aim was to destroy internal enemies and conspirators and to chase the external enemies from French territory.The Terror as such started on September 5, 1793 and, as the Reign of Terror, lasted until the summer of 1794, taking the lives of anywhere between 18,000 to 40,000 people (estimates vary widely). Thousands would die by means of the guillotine, including many of the greatest lights of the revolution, like Georges Danton.. The deaths can be explained in part by the sense of emergency that gripped the revolutionary leadership as the country teetered on the brink of civil war. Source
Who was John Stuart Mill?
(pg. 3 of the transcript or 00:12:19)
John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, economist, and exponent of utilitarianism. He was prominent as a publicist in the reforming age of the 19th century, and remains of lasting interest as a logician and an ethical theorist.The influence that his works exercised upon contemporary English thought can scarcely be overestimated, nor can there be any doubt about the value of the liberal and inquiring spirit with which he handled the great questions of his time. Beyond that, however, there has been considerable difference of opinion about the enduring merits of his philosophy. Source
Who was Alexis de Tocqueville?
(pg. 3 of the transcript or 00:12:27)
Alexis de Tocqueville, French sociologist, political scientist, historian, and politician, best known for Democracy in America (1835–40). Tocqueville traveled to the United States in 1831 to study its prisons and returned with a wealth of broader observations that he codified in “Democracy in America”, one of the most influential books of the 19th century. With its trenchant observations on equality and individualism, Tocqueville’s work remains a valuable explanation of America to Europeans and of Americans to themselves. Tocqueville’s works shaped 19th-century discussions of liberalism and equality, and were rediscovered in the 20th century as sociologists debated the causes and cures of tyranny. Source
What does cancel culture mean?
(pg. 6 of the transcript or 00:32:27)
Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. Cancel culture is generally discussed as being performed on social media in the form of group shaming. Source
Democracy in Question? is brought to you by:
• Central European University: CEU
• The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: AHCD
• The Podcast Company: Novel
A short “thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation
The full text of this podcast can be found in the transcript of this edition or at the following link:
https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2022/02/a-political-theological-ghost-story.html
Please feel to post any comments you have about this episode there.
Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass)
Thanks for listening. Just to note that all the texts of these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com
Democracy or more specifically Liberal Democracy has been a significant part in Western society, but is it in trouble? Is Democracy even the best form of government? The rise in fake news and volatile discourse has seem to undermine the Democratic system. Dr. Craig Gay, who directs Regent's ThM, helps to bring clarity to these questions and more.
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On the 16 June 2021 U.S President Biden met with his Russian Counterpart President Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. Soon after this meeting, the President of the United States addressing the press corp in an effort to declare Putin as gone rogue, innocently declared “his credibility worldwide shrinks” and then he went on to again very naively question “how would it be if United States were viewed by the rest of the world as interfering with the elections directly of other countries and everybody knew it? What would it be like if we engaged in activities that he engaged in? it diminishes the standing of a country?”
So, Biden is literally saying that (A) Russia has interfered in other countries’ elections including the U.S and (B) that the U.S has not interfered in other countries elections. Hmm are we missing something. Like really, like honestly, who is President Biden kidding? Does he really think that America has not interfered in other countries’ elections? Does he really think that America does not continue to interfere in other countries’ elections? OK! Right off the bat I wanna make it clear that pointing out American interference in other countries’ elections does not mean siding with Russia, so on that note, let’s take a look at America’s glorious history of interfering in other countries and other countries’ elections starting from the Middle East.
In this fortnight's Vienna Coffee House Conversation, Ivan Vejvoda speaks to EU diplomat and academic Julia De Clerck-Sachsse about the power of narratives to shape policy and the future of the European project. Was Barack Obama right to say that "perhaps [Europe needs] an outsider, somebody who is not European, to remind [it] of the magnitude of what [it has] achieved"? As enlargement proceeds and threats to the democratic order arise, is Europe able to tell itself the stories that it needs to face up to new challenges?
A diplomat and an academic, Julia De Clerck-Sachsse served as the speechwriter and communications adviser to EU High Representatives for Foreign and Security Policy, Lady Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini. She is leading a research project at Oxford University on the EU’s geopolitical narrative and works on transatlantic relations, EU foreign and security policy; also a foreign-policy Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She is a 2020/21 “Europe's Futures” fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences and ERSTE Foundation.
Julia De Clerck-Sachsse is on Linkedin. find her writing at GMF and a list of her academic papers at researchgate. Read her recent paper on how the EU can win the battle of narratives here.
Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.
The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora.
you can find IWM's website at:
Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.
Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.
you can find IWM's website at:
Wolfgang Merkel is on twitter @merkel_wolfgang and his most recent book, Democracy and Crisis: Challenges in Turbulent Times is available from Springer. His 2020 article 'Who Governs in Deep Crises?" can be read at Berghahn.
Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.
The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora.
you can find IWM's website at:
Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.
Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.
you can find IWM's website at:
Ο Φίλιππος Βασιλόγιαννης διαβάζει ένα απόσπασμα από το βιβλίο του «Το Μίσος για τη Φιλελεύθερη Δημοκρατία»
In his recent book – ll Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency (Penguin 2019) – Larry Diamond analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world at this potential “hinge in history”. The book outlines an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home in the US as well as abroad.
Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University. He is also a professor by courtesy of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford.
Professor Diamond has made numerous contributions to topics such as democratic development and regime change; U.S. foreign policy affecting democracy abroad; comparative trends in the quality and stability of democracy in developing countries and post-communist states; and public opinion in new democracies.
In addition to serving as advisor to numerous governmental and international organizations throughout his glittering career, Prof. Diamond is also the founding co-editor of the hugely influential Journal of Democracy .
Host
Professor Dan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)
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Martin Sandbu has an exciting new book, The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All (Princeton University Press).
Martin argues that the western social order has rested on three crucial pillars. First, political principles centered on individual rights, equality before the law, robust and independent institutions and regular, free and meaningful elections.
The second pillar consists of a social market economy, that is a capitalist system in which prosperity is broadly shared. And the third pillar is economic and political openness to the outside world for the joint realization of this social order.
Much of the political debate in recent years, especially in the United States and in parts of Europe, has questioned the purpose and value of this western economic and political order that has been in place since 1945. This has been in part been fueled by widening income inequality, growing political polarization, and the rise of populist leaders. Some have also blamed globalization for such discontentment.
But Martin argues that it is not globalization that is to blame for many of our current problems, but rather technological change and flawed domestic policies that have made it difficult for some groups in society to particulate fully and justly in the economy. The real problem, he writes, is that “The western social order no longer fulfills its promise of an economy that provides a good place for everyone."
Martin Sandbu is the European Economics Commentator for the Financial Times. He also writes Free Lunch, the FT's weekly newsletter on the global economic policy debate.
Host
Professor Dan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)
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On January 26, 2020—Republic Day—India celebrated the 70th anniversary of its landmark Constitution. This milestone comes at a time when India is engaged in an intense, contested, and sometimes violent, debate over India’s constitutional values and what it means to be truly Indian.
It is for this reason that a new book by the scholar Madhav Khosla on the Indian Constitution could not have come at a more opportune time. Madhav’s new book, India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy, places the Indian Constitution under a microscope—drawing on insights from philosophy, political science, history, and legal scholarship.
Madhav and Milan discuss the motivations behind India’s embrace of liberal democracy, the Indian roots of the Indian Constitution, and how to think about the pressing, modern-day questions around citizenship.
Starting in the 1970s, political scientist Francis Fukuyama says the world saw a significant expansion of democracy. Dozens of countries were becoming democracies and by 2008, more than 100 democracies existed around the globe. Now, says Fukuyama, liberal democracy is being challenged by populist nationalist leaders and they’re fanning the flames of identity politics. Instead of uniting over a shared sense of humanity, people are identifying in narrower ways based on things like religion, race, ethnicity, and gender. Fukuyama believes that in order to support democracy, we must inculcate a greater sense of dignity into society. Fukuyama speaks with Elliot Gerson, executive vice president at the Aspen Institute. The views and opinions of the podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.
Yascha Mounk talks with Kate & Luigi about his new book "The People Vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It." Recorded in front of a live audience, the conversation touches on recent populist uprisings and the extent to which they threaten liberal democracy.
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