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

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Thoughts on Putin and Trump

Democratic “Interference,” and the Transnational Contest for “Democracy”

January 26, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

This second response has obvious merit. The US government historically has very deliberately interfered with elections elsewhere on numerous occasions, many of which involved efforts to undermine perceived “enemies” and to promote “friends” even if they were “our sons-of-a-bitch,” as President Franklin Roosevelt famously said of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somozo ...

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Obama’s Speech was Powerful and Flawed

January 11, 2017 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

It was a powerful speech, and a moving one. It was Obama at his best. Ever since Aristotle, we have known that language is what makes possible politics. Obama is a rhetorician in the best sense. He takes words seriously. He uses words to open us to the perspectives of others and ...

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Is There a Crisis of Democracy?

The Rise of Trump-like Figures in Democracies

December 15, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

There is a very interesting debate taking place between Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa and Erik Voeten on Monkey Cage and Wonkblog. According to Mounk and Foa: “Public attitudes toward democracy... have soured over time. Citizens, especially millennials, have less faith in the democratic system. They are more likely to ...

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Family and Friends

Another Thought About Donald Trump’s Authoritarianism

November 20, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Family and friends. We all have them, or at least most of the time we want them. In colloquial terms, family and friends offer support, love, and joy. They constitute a sphere of personal intimacy that makes a life more meaningful. The support of family and friends helps us to ...

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Why Did Trump Win?

A Proposal for Modesty

November 12, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Why did Trump win? I begin with a question. Because it is a question being asked by so many people, ordinary citizens (and “undocumented” resident non-citizens) and intellectuals, writers, and academics. And because it is and will long remain a question, one with no simple answer. Election day was only a ...

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The Day After

November 9, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

I didn’t sleep much last night. I think it was near 4 am when I was finally able to shut off the lights after watching Trump’s victory speech. Perhaps I slept fitfully for a few hours. I don’t know. My mind raced through so many scenarios, so many questions. And ...

Hillary Clinton Is a Centrist Liberal and an Establishment Politician: She Is Not the Enemy

To my friends on the Left

October 30, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

I am uncomfortable with political labels, especially as applied to me. But to most people in the world, I would be considered someone on the left. I am a Contributing Editor of Dissent magazine; I recently edited a new edition of The Communist Manifesto to which I contributed a rather ...

Hillary Clinton Is a Centrist Liberal and an Establishment Politician: She Is Not the Enemy

Uncategorized

Republicans: When Is Enough Enough?

August 4, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

“I’m not going to make a decision today based on what I know today.” - Michael Steele, former head of the Republican National Committee and a regular commentator on MSNBC. In recent weeks the campaign of Donald Trump has imploded. Trump won the Republican Presidential nomination by disparaging his Republican rivals (“Lyin’ ...

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An Open Letter to John McCain

August 2, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Dear Senator John McCain: We don’t know each other. You are a war hero, a major public personality, a former Presidential candidate, a distinguished leader of your party, and a Republican. I am a 59 year old political science professor who grew up in New York and lives in Indiana, has ...

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Some Thoughts on Shouting Down Allies Much Less Adversaries

July 28, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Interesting questions of political ethics are presented by the various “disruptions” enacted by some “Bernie or Bust” delegates on the DNC convention floor, obviously related, at least in part, to real arguments about “deliberative democracy” and “agonistic democracy.” These oppositions can easily be oversimplified. Some adherents of “deliberation” clearly know ...

Some Thoughts on Shouting Down Allies Much Less Adversaries

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Why I Support Hillary Clinton For President: A Letter to My Friends on the Left

July 26, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

I support Hillary Clinton’s election unreservedly, and intend to work for her election, though I have no illusions about her character or her politics. My primary motivation is my absolute opposition to the candidacy of Donald Trump, who I regard as a danger to liberal democracy. Liberal democracy is a ...