Democracy Archives - Page 49 of 57

North America

Trump and the Shifting Landscape of Political Conflict

What Minneapolis Teaches Us

October 16, 2019 • by Joe Lowndes

Trump's rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis on October 9th -- particularly his attack on the Somali community -- highlights important elements of what is likely to be his campaign strategy for 2020. We are all too familiar with Trump’s xenophobia and race-baiting. But much has changed on the ground ...

Europe & Central Asia

The Façade of Justice in Poland

Undermining the rule of law, hiding social inequality

October 15, 2019 • by Paweł Marczewski

Although social transfers do consolidate support for Law and Justice, especially among the new voters of the party, they are not a simple economic transaction, in which political support is exchanged for money. The welfare transactions are perceived as a symbol of a new beginning after three decades of austerity ...

North America

The Moral Clarity of Children

What Climate Strikers Have to Teach Elizabeth Warren

October 9, 2019 • by Hannah Leffingwell

The quick answer was: yes, Warren’s speech did feel monumental. And yes, the Climate Strike was an event of global significance. The two rallies inspire the assembled crowds, and me. Most importantly, their positioning as bookends to the week’s political news brought into focus how these two agendas might intersect. Warren highlighted the innovations and ...

Democracy

Hate Inc.

Why Today’s Media Makes us Despise One Another

October 2, 2019 • by Matt Taibbi

I know this because I was hired to do this work, over and over. My commercial niche, in fact, was the vitriolic essay that got people spitting mad, or poked fun at someone audiences hated. I was the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog of journalism. I actually won the National Magazine ...

Europe & Central Asia

Varieties of Gendered Populism

The case of Poland

September 17, 2019 • by Elżbieta Korolczuk

These developments suggest there is a tight connection between right-wing populism and opposition to gender equality and sexual democracy. Just like there is a clear pattern of gendered nationalism, there appears to be also a trend towards gendered populism. As Ruth Wodak pointed out in her seminal book Politics of fear, ...

Democracy

Lies, Fakes, and Deep Fakes

Deceptions and Scams in the Age of Trump

September 11, 2019 • by Sidney Tarrow

Following the speech three things happened: first, a video was almost immediately made and posted online; a video in which Pelosi’s delivery was slowed down and her tone changed to give the impression that she was either drunk or affected by a health disorder. Second, the next day President Trump tweeted a ...

Democracy

The Story of Indian Democracy Written in Blood and Betrayal

BJP thinks it is going to Indianize Kashmir. Instead, we will see, potentially, the Kashmirization of India.

September 5, 2019 • by Pratap Bhanu Mehta

The narrative supporting a radical move on Kashmir is familiar. Article 35(a) was a discriminatory provision and had to go. Article 370 was not a mechanism for integration but a legal tool for separatism. The Indian state, despite the horrendous violence it has used in the past, has never had ...

Democracy

Hong Kong’s Twin Questions of Democracy and Self-Determination

The long summer of discontent in Hong Kong

August 29, 2019 • by Ho-fung Hung

Back in August 31st, 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China decided that any future "universal suffrage" of the highest office of Hong Kong would be subject to strict candidate vetting by a nomination committee dominated by Beijing loyalists. It means such an election will be ...

Democracy

Further Thoughts on Antifa

Counter-Violence is not Self-Defense

August 26, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

On the one hand, my piece has generated some interesting discussions, the main point of contention of which centers on the question of whether “Antifa” is a form of self-defense in response to the presence of dangerous and armed racists. On the other hand, “antifascist” organizing continues apace in Bloomington. A rump market ...

Democracy

Turkey’s Authoritarianism and Crisis Management

It’s Complicated!

August 26, 2019 • by Ali Rıza Güngen

For many observers, it is the authoritarian shift and the irresponsible policies accompanying the regime change of 2017-18 that led to the latest economic crisis in Turkey. They generally tend to deem the 2003-07 period as the golden years of the Turkish economy, despite the fact that Turkey’s credit-led model ...

Democracy

Antifa Is Not a Terrorist Organization

But That Doesn’t Make It Good

August 20, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Simultaneously, racism and white supremacism have assumed a new importance. President Donald Trump is a virulent racist and demagogue who consorts with white supremacists, praises them, gives them aid and comfort, and even includes them as high-ranking members of his campaign (Steve Bannon) and administration (Stephen Miller). The mass murder ...

Democracy

What Are Iranians Dreaming about Today?

Reflections on the Islamic Revolution at 40

August 1, 2019 • by Kian Tajbakhsh

Introduction Almost 20 years ago, I published an article under the title “Political Decentralization and the Creation of Local Government in Iran: Consolidation or Transformation of the Theocratic State?” (Tajbakhsh 2000). The establishment of an elected local government in every city and village in Iran was the most significant institutional innovation ...