S1 E4 Patterns of Democracy with Arend Lijphart

Welcome back to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast

I thought I'd jump ahead a little and discuss some of the basic changes we could make to our constitution which would actually make it a more democratic system of government.  In this episode, I have the genuine pleasure to interview one of the leading experts on democratic forms of government. His seminal book, Patterns of Democracy is probably the best analysis in comparative democracies available today. We all need to know why.

Arend Lijphart's research focuses on comparative politics, elections and voting systems, institutions, and ethnicity and politics. His work has had a profound impact on the study of democracy and he is widely considered the leading authority on consociationalism. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration (1977), Democracies: Patterns of Majoritarian and Consensus Government in Twenty-One Countries (1984), Power-Sharing in South Africa (1985), Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences (1986), Parliamentary versus Presidential Government (1992), Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies (1994), and Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries (1999; 2nd ed., 2012). Lijphart has received numerous awards throughout his prestigious career in recognition of his groundbreaking research, including the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, Aaron

Wildavsky Book Award, and honorary doctorates by the University of Leiden, Queen's University Belfast, and the University of Ghent. He was elected to serve as president of the American Political Science Association in 1995 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, and the Netherlands Academy of Sciences. Most recently, in 2010, he received the Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeritus Award in recognition of his unique and extensive contributions to the University of California, the discipline, and the world. He is also an acquaintance and I am especially happy to be having our first official Zoom meeting since we began exchanging emails almost 3 years ago.  Welcome, Arend to the Peaceful Political Revolution in America Podcast. It's so wonderful to have you here.

Top Fixes to Our Constitution, in order of discussion:

Change Presidential System for Parliamentary System 

Proportional Representation or Mixed Member Proportional Elections

Gerrymandering

Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico

Mandatory Voting

Abolish the Electoral College

Uniform National Voting Standards

Expand the Court to 17 Justices, Term Limits

Abolish Primaries

Fewer Elections

Term limits for Judges

Abolish the Senate