Political Theories ( Questions about individual rights, the social contract, the purpose of the state, and different models of democracy (e.g., direct democracy, representative democracy)
Ballot initiatives are designed to give the people a voice and a means to work around legislative politics, which has to be good for democracy, right? Our guests this week provide a different take on the story we're often told about direct democracy and civic engagement.
From gerrymandering to ranked-choice voting to expanding voting rights, the ballot initiative has been essential to expanding and reforming democracy in recent years. However, the initiative has also been used to constrain minority rights and push the public to act on polarizing issues like the death penalty and immigration.
Ted Lascher and Joshua Dyck are the authors of Initiatives Without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy's Secondary Effects. In the book, they develop and test a theory that can explain the evidence that the ballot initiative process fails to provide the civic benefits commonly claimed for it, and the evidence that it increases political participation. Ultimately, they argue that the basic function of direct democracy is to create more conflict in society — something that runs counter to the way initiatives are often framed by scholars and democracy reformers.
Lascher is Professor of Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Sacramento. Dyck is Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Center for Public Opinion at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Lee and James talk with Samuel Bagg about participation and democracy. Bagg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina and the author of The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2024).
What are the origins of deliberative democracy? What is the role of participation in the 21st century? How should we think about democracy beyond individual decision-making? These are some of the questions Lee and James explore in this week's episode.
The invasion of Ukraine is a shocking reminder of what's at stake for democracies around the world. This moment is a stunning reminder of the vital importance of what we so often take for granted— personal freedoms and the rule of law. Despite well-advertised flaws, our constitutional system of governance is infinitely preferable to dictatorships or thuggish autocracies.
In this episode, we share a conversation that touches on the relationship between voters and those who represent them, and what is meant by "representative democracy". The interview is shared with us by our friends at the "Democracy Paradox" podcast.
Lisa Disch, author of the book, “Making Constituencies: Representation as Mobilization in Mass Democracy” is this week’s guest. She is a professor of political science at the University of Michigan and an elected member of the Ann Arbor City Council. She is a committed member of the Democratic Party, but her views and research should be of interest to listeners from across the political spectrum.
Our democracy is brittle. Many would say our Constitutional Republic is in trouble. So what kind of work can we do on "actually renovating our institutions"?
We were fortunate to be joined by Dr. Danielle Allen, a democracy advocate, Harvard professor and nonprofit leader who's doing something about it. We talked about how to maintain a loving spirit when faced with "a lot of bleeps"; Danielle's fascinating family legacy and her "obsession" with democracy; what the heck a eudaemonist democratic pragmatist is; the ways the 5 freedoms articulated in the 1st Amendment are under threat; the merits of ranked choice voting, expanding the House of Representatives and other democratic renovations; the imperative of developing a civic portfolio; and how to "not let our differences take our humanity hostage."
Prof. Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is a professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy and director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. Outside the University, she is a co-chair for the Our Common Purpose Commission and Founder and President for Partners In Democracy, where she advocates for democracy reform to create greater voice and access in our democracy, and to drive progress towards a new social contract that serves and includes us all.
Mike talks with historian Anthony Gregory, author of multiple publications on national security, constitutionalism, and legal theory. His latest book is New Deal Law and Order: How The War on Crime Built The Modern Liberal State.
Topics Mike & Anthony Discuss Include:
– the origin of the “war on crime”
– how the war on crime paved the way for the modern liberal state
– FDR’s “creative constitutionalism”
– J. Edgar Hoover and the creation of the modern FBI
– the war on crime and the Civil Rights Movement
– consequences of New Deal law & order
Dr. Richard Haass is the President of the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of The Bill of Obligations: Ten Habits of Good Citizens. We discuss how we, as citizens, can fulfill our role in the social contract.
The United States is a country founded on an idea about equality, about opportunity, about freedom. Rights alone will not guarantee the smooth functioning of a society, but must be coupled with obligations. These include being informed, getting involved, civic education, and rejecting violence. If 1 or 2% more Americans were to get informed and involved in American politics, we could have very different outcomes.
American democracy is under attack, and much of the damage is done in statehouses. David Pepper explains how Americans’ hyper-fixation on national politics opens the door for corruption and anti-democratic actions at the state level. In Ohio, state legislators have undermined democracy by manipulating election policies and drawing unfair legislative districts. Pepper discusses how all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, can incorporate saving democracy into their daily lives.
David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, and adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He served as Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party from 2015-2021. In addition to his daily Substack, he has written several books. Two address state-level attacks on democracy: Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines (2021) and Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American (2023). His other books are political thrillers, the most recent being The Fifth Vote (2023). He also serves as a Senior Fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.
Bart Myers returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about what's been happening at Countable and his new role leading CrowdBlue, a platform for Democratic and Independent candidates to connect, mobilize and build power.
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