The Democracy Group

Coming to you live this week from the American Political History conference at Purdue University, it’s Democracy in Danger's season finale. Will and Siva speak with three historians — Liette Gidlow, Derek Musgrove and Thomas Zimmer — about the past, present and future of government by the people. Our guests ponder the Jan. 6 hearings, D.C. statehood, social mobilization and the structural problems of the Constitution itself. Did America’s founders sign democracy’s death warrant at its birth?Additional InformationDemocracy in Danger PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Sung Yeon Choimorrow is the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, whose mission is to elevate AAPI women and girls to impact policy and drive systemic change in the United States. We discuss age-old and hardened stereotypes, changing the narrative about who Asian-Americans are, and activating Asian communities to take civic action.The term model minority was coined by a white sociologist to pit Japanese Americans against Black Americans. Many Asian-Americans have used the model minority myth to protect them, though in the end it does not insulate them from discrimination and racism. In fact, the objectification of Asian women for entertainment persists, and Asian-Americans are perpetually seen as foreign. Follow Sung Yeon on Twitter:https://twitter.com/schoimorrowFollow Mila on Twitter:https://twitter.com/milaatmosFollow Future Hindsight on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/Additional InformationFuture Hindsight PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 LiebermanA 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 HighlightsWhy is Evan Lieberman optimistic about democracy in South AfricaRole of Nelson Mandela on South Africa's democracyImportance of South Africa for democracy in the worldAccount of the housing community EthembalethuWhat the 2019 election says about democracy in South AfricaKey LinksUntil 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 DemocracyLearn more about Evan Lieberman at www.evanlieberman.orgFollow Evan Lieberman on Twitter @evliebDemocracy in Hard Places edited by Scott Mainwaring and Tarek MasoudAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Over the next few weeks, the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is holding a series of historic hearings to shed light on the events leading up to and on January 6, 2021.During the hearings,  “Swamp Stories” is having a special series to bring listeners in-depth analysis by some of the country’s leading political experts on what we are learning and how the country is reacting.In the first episode of the series, host Weston Wamp speaks with Dick Gephardt, former House Majority Leader from Missouri, and member of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus and the National Council on Election Integrity.Additional InformationSwamp Stories PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

In this reported series, Jenna Spinelle tells the stories of activists, legislators, academics, and average citizens who changed their cities, states, and the country by taking important issues directly to votes — like Medicaid expansion in Idaho, sentencing reform in California, and LGBTQ workplace protections in Ohio.  From The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, When the People Decide explores the pros and cons of this largely overlooked tool of government and its impact in the last half century. Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show, subscribe in your podcast app, and follow the show on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Every day on social media and cable TV, in newspapers and magazines, we're told that we live in a red-versus-blue world of rigid divides. Our podcast guest, Tony Woodlief, begs to differ."In reality, most people fall somewhere in the middle, or else have a complex blend of views from both sides of the aisle, Tony tells us. His new book "I, Citizen" uses polling data, political history, and on-the-ground reporting to make the case that party activists and partisans are attempting to undermine the freedom of Americans to govern themselves and make decisions that have a direct impact on their lives. Many people have fallen for a false narrative promoted by leaders of political parties, academia, media, and government, that we're all team red or team blue, he argues. In this episode, we learn a different perspective and discuss how all of us can find common ground in our local neighborhoods and national discourse.Additional InformationLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

In 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting, E.J. Dionne and Miles Rapoport argue that all members of a democracy must participate in elections. Universal voting would be the surest way to protect against voter suppression and the active disenfranchisement of a large share of our citizens. And it would create a system true to the Declaration of Independence's aspirations by calling for a government based on the consent of all of the governed.The system works in Australia, but can it work in the United States? Would it become just another tool in partisan warfare? Can American democracy even handle something like universal voting? We explore those questions this week.Dionne is is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, university professor at Georgetown University, and visiting professor at Harvard University.  He is the author of Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country.Rapoport is the Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. He formerly served in the Connecticut state legislature and as secretary of the state. He also served as president of Demos and of Common Cause.100% Democracy: The Case for Universal VotingAdditional InformationDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy GroupFaith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal DemocracyDemocracy and the language of faith - article in Democracy Journal

After a hiatus, Another Way is back! In this episode, Larry Lessig speaks with Bill Galson, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Co-Founder of No Labels. The two discuss the origins of No Labels, the rise of political polarization in Congress and whether democracy reform is needed to combat it, and if and how the filibuster should be reformed. Lessig and Galson also tackle the infamous No Label phone call leak and in what ways reform organizations should spend their money in the political process.Context for the No Labels phone call leak:  https://theintercept.com/2021/06/16/joe-manchin-leaked-billionaire-donors-no-labels/Additional InformationAnother Way PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

How do societies respond to great demographic change? This question lingers over the contemporary politics of the United States and other countries where persistent immigration has altered populations and may soon produce a majority minority milestone. Or where the original ethnic or religious majority loses its numerical advantage to one or more foreign-origin minority groups. Until now, most of our knowledge about large-scale responses to demographic change has been based on studies of individual people’s reactions, which tend to be instinctively defensive and intolerant. We know little about why and how these habits are sometimes tempered to promote more successful coexistence.Dr. Justin Gest is an Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He is the author of six books, primarily on the politics of immigration and demographic change—all from Oxford University Press or Cambridge University Press. Dr. Gest's research has been published in journals including the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Comparative Political Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Global Governance, Global Policy, International Migration Review, Migration Studies, Polity, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the editor of Silent Citizenship: The Politics of Marginality in Unequal Democracies (Routledge, 2016), special issues of Citizenship Studies, and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.He has also provided commentary, analysis, or reporting to a number of broadcast networks, including ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, and NPR, and news publications including The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, POLITICO, Reuters, The Times, Vox, and The Washington Post.Additional InformationThe Village SquareCast PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

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 RadnitzSupport Democracy Paradox on Patreon for bonus episodes and exclusive updates and information. 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 HighlightsConspiracy theories Russia uses to justify their invasion of UkraineWhy Russia relies on conspiracy theories in its political rhetoricThe use of conspiracy theories in democracies and autocraciesThe recent proliferation of conspiracy theories in the United StatesHow to mitigate the harmful effects of conspiracy theories in politicsKey Links"Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories" by Scott Radnitz in Journal of DemocracyRevealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region by Scott RadnitzEnemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns edited by Harris Mylonas and Scott RadnitzAdditional InformationDemocracy Paradox PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group