James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington

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Taking Political Differences Seriously

Why I Did Not Protest John Yoo at the APSA Meetings

September 20, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

But I did not protest John Yoo's presence at this year's APSA meeting in San Francisco, and the reason why is simple: I believe the protest was misplaced and also advanced a principle that I find disturbing and cannot support. Let me be clear: I did not and do not “oppose” ...

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Charlottesville and Trump

David Duke Explains Neo-Nazi Violence to You

August 12, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

There is fire and fury today on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. Neo-nazis and white supremacists, some bearing guns, are violently protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee and attacking anti-racist counter-protestors. David Duke has declared that this is the fulfillment of President Trump’s vision for America. “We are determined ...

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Trump, Nukes, and Democracy at its Limit

The whole world is watching

August 9, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

In the history of political thought there have been many rationales offered for democracy as an ideal of self-government, just as there have been many criticisms of the very idea of democracy. One of the most cogent rationales is the simple idea that regular democratic elections make political power accountable, because ...

Trump, Nukes, and Democracy at its Limit

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Trump, Tweets, and the Dictatorial Mind

July 29, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

The Oxford English Dictionary defines dictation as “authoritative utterance or prescription . . . the making of a pronouncement. . . command.” It defines dictatorship as “A system of government by absolute rule of a single individual; a state ruled by a dictator.” Both words derive from the Latin word ...

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Is There Illiberal Democracy?

A Problem with no Semantic Solution

July 12, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Editor's note: This is the introduction to an in depth essay on a major problem of our times, the international development of a form of authoritarianism that uses the rhetoric of democracy. The full essay can be found here. This then will be followed with a series of commentaries, opening a new ...

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Trump is an Authoritarian

In his actions and his words — and words are actions

May 3, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

In a recent piece in the Guardian, Corey Robin argues that “liberals” exaggerate the danger posed by Donald Trump, and do so because they pay “almost exclusive attention to what Trump says rather than what he does.” He attributes to liberals -- “journalists such as Vox’s Ezra Klein and academics ...

Education

Hungarian Higher Education Under Attack

The Fate of CEU is the Fate of Freedom

April 3, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Central European University, one of the most important institutions of higher education in Europe, is currently being threatened by the Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his nationalist-populist FIDESZ party. CEU, founded in 1991 during the early phases of the post-Communist transition, is officially registered and accredited in ...

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“Focus on the Issues, Not on Trump?” NOT!

How the Trump Administration is waging war against the Media

February 25, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

The right-wing version of this, expressed by conservative MSNBC talk-show host Joe Scarborough but also by his MSNBC colleague Chuck Todd, goes something like this (I paraphrase): “Trump’s antics are distracting him from attending to the substantive policy issues of his campaign. He is needlessly making enemies of the press, ...

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Trump and his Recent Denunciation of Anti-semitism

11 Theses

February 21, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

2. This is a very bad thing for Jewish-Americans, for minorities of all kinds, for all citizens who care about the rights of individuals and the importance of constitutional democracy, and for all human beings who care about human dignity and respect. 3. It is imperative that this anti-semitism is denounced ...

Uncategorized

The Politics of Disclosure

Trump’s Dangerous Authoritarianism

February 16, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Now this question has come out into the open, and certain facts have reached the light of day. Extensive investigative reporting by the Washington Post, New York Times, and other media outlets has shown that: Trump’s National Security Adviser, Mike Flynn, already known to have extensive ties to Putin, had numerous ...

Uncategorized

A Citizen’s Appeal to Barack Obama

Defending our democracy from authoritarianism

February 2, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

This can't wait. Every day brings us one day closer to authoritarianism, to war, to disaster. Unless you have closed your eyes and ears, you can see and hear this. You know this. What canon of "civility" and "respect for the constitutional transfer of authority" can require you now, as a ...

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A “No!” to Gorsuch is a “Yes!” to Democracy

Democrats must oppose Neil Gorsuch for SCOTUS

February 1, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Democrats must oppose Gorsuch, on principle but also because of the pragmatics of starting to organize real opposition to Trumpism and to mobilize Democratic constituencies and reinvigorate the party. Indeed, every Democratic Senator who questions him at his confirmation hearings should ask him these three questions: (1) do you believe that the ...