Season 3: Episode 10

The Genealogy of Illiberalism

This episode explores the complex and contradictory relationship between liberalism and illiberalism in a historical framework. It speaks to several key questions about the emergence of illiberal practices today: What is the nature of the illiberal challenge to an understanding of liberalism as individual freedom? Is there a natural affinity between liberalism and democracy? How do populist illiberal trends exploit the weaknesses of liberal constitutional regimes? And from where do threats to liberal principles in universities emerge?

 

Season 3: Episode 9

Governance in Illiberal Democracies

This episode explores the political phenomena related to governance in illiberal democracies. What relationships do such regimes have to the rule of law and the constitution? How does legal cheating play a role in the governance style? And how can democracy be restored after an illiberal interlude?

 

Season 3: Episode 8

Holding Power Accountable with Investigative Journalism

This episode explores what the Pandora Papers reveal about wealth and the governance of a global financial system. What are the common strategies adopted by wealthy companies, individuals, and organizations to evade tax accountability? How have democracies across the world responded to the revelations of the Pandora Papers? And what models are available for publicly-oriented investigative journalism that can hold power accountable?

 

Season 3: Episode 7

Populism and democracy’s ‘critical infrastructure

This episode explores the concept of populism and fundamental structures that give legitimacy and efficacy to democratic politics. Is populism the direct result of a crisis of representation? How can we strengthen representative democracy against the threat of soft authoritarian politics? And what has happened to intermediary institutions of democratic politics in this era of populism?

 

Season 3: Episode 6

The Right to Belong

This episode explores questions of citizenship, displacement, statelessness, and the ways in which they are related to aspects of race and gender. The discussion includes an examination of the right to belong to a state and the right of people to move across borders in search of security and stability in the context of South Asia and beyond.

 

Season 3: Episode 5

The Role of Radio in Transitions to Democracy

The episode explores the role of locally embedded news and media organizations in facilitating citizen participation in societies seeking to further democracy. In the age of misinformation, can the patient and steady pace of radio journalism prove to be a much-needed democratic corrective? In the discussion, Caroline Vuillemine and Said Nazir examine the role of the radio and the opportunities facing this medium of public communication.

 

Season 3: Episode 4

Biopolitics from Below

This episode explores with Ranabir Samaddar the specific nature of democratic politics during the COVID-19 crisis. Anchored in the specificity of the experience of the pandemic in India, the episode also addresses the global transformation of politics in a time of crisis. How has the pandemic changed our understanding of politics? What does it mean to refocus on life as the primary object of politics? And what does the COVID-19 crisis reveal about the nature of the contemporary Indian state and the fundamental concepts of sovereignty and citizenship?

 

Season 3: Episode 3

Challenges of the Israeli democracy today

The episode explores with Avrum Burg the challenges with which the Israeli democracy is confronted. As Israel stands at the crossroads after the defeat of its longest serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with his expansionist politics, which have marked the country’s territorial expansion over the last decades, this episode asks: Will the new eight party coalition government mark the beginnings of a fight against the radicalization of the Israeli state and society?

And what are the long-term effects of this radicalization, not just for the Israeli democracy itself, but also for the rights of Arab and Palestinian people in the region? Can democracy survive in Israel when the Arab minority is denied its legitimate claims to equal citizenship in the country? And what is the relationship of religious sentiments, religious resurgence, with democratic politics?

 

Season 3: Episode 2

Language and public discourse in the success of right-wing political movements

What is the nature of the linguistic and discursive repertoires of contemporary right-wing mobilizations in Europe? In this episode of Democracy in Question, presenter Shalini Randeria continues the conversation about the rise of radical right-wing political movements in recent years across the world with Ruth Wodak, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University, and visiting professor at CEU. Together they explore the role of language and public discourse in the scheme of things, asking how this increasingly vitiated public discourse promotes the cause of a politics based on fear.

 

Season 3: Episode 1

The struggle for voting rights in the US today

The most pernicious assault on American democracy today are the laws and measures enacted in various state legislatures under Republican control that aim at voter restriction. Among the foremost voices in the struggle for democratic rights in the United States is Stacey Abrams, U.S. politician and activist. Her campaign for protecting voting rights and resisting disenfranchisement of black and other minority voters has been central in pushing back against these insidious moves that dismantle democracy from within using formally legitimate means. We open our third series of Democracy in Question by asking Stacey to shed light on organizational and political issues around voting rights, democracy, and demography.

 

Season 2: Episode 10

Can the concept of „fascism“ be used to understand the pathologies of US politics, past and present?

The current rise of right wing populist leaders in democracies around the world, from Donald Trump to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, has led to a debate on the fuzziness of these new regimes that are eroding liberalism by incorporating totalitarian features. Some argue that the term ‘fascist’ would be useful in understanding the nature of politics in these countries, while others warn against an inflationary use of the term. We close the second season of the podcast by asking Professor Jason Stanley (Yale University) whether the term ‘fascism’ helps us understand what is happening in the US and how this ideology is seeping into democracies the world over.

 

Season 2: Episode 9

Why are reproductive rights so contentious in the US and Argentina?

There is considerable political mobilization and legal contention around Reproductive rights in many democracies around the world. In the US, a rollback of these rights has been underway over the past decades. The Supreme Court is likely to (re)consider its landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. In contrast, activists have made progress on reproductive rights elsewhere in the world. Only a few months ago, Argentina legalised abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy. In this episode, we’re joined by Katha Pollitt (feminist writer and activist) and Tamara Tenenbaum (University of Buenos Aires and also an activist) to compare and contrast the experience in their societies. They discuss what the current struggles, setbacks and victories mean for the future of reproductive rights around the world.

Disclaimer: this episode contains explicit language

 

Season 2: Episode 8

When and how is power visible in politics?

Power is a crucial, if essentially contested, concept. Its nature and exercise in democratic politics are not always easily grasped. Understanding who holds power, how it is used, and the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed, is critical in any political system. Professor Steven Lukes (formerly NYU) helps us figure out how to map power in politics and explains when and how it is visible.

 

Season 2: Episode 7

How can we structure digital spaces more democratically?

Digital technologies have changed and are changing our world. But the euphoria about these technologies not only improving connectivity, but creating a global public sphere have given way to caution about their impact. With the increasing monopolization of digital infrastructure and accumulation of power by a few giant Big Tech companies, there is increasing concern over its impact on our freedoms, as well as the ways in which it shapes how we live and perceive the world. In this episode, Evgeny Morozov (founder of the content recommendation website The Syllabus) helps us understand how we can structure digital spaces more democratically, while harvesting the transformational potential of these technologies.

 

Season 2: Episode 6

Can democracy survive in Hong Kong?

The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is facing its most severe crisis today. The Chinese government has been tightening its grip over the island to stifle political protest, impose restrictions on freedom of press, and hamper free and fair elections. Activists have been fighting for civil liberties and democratic rights, from the Umbrella Revolution of 2014 to the huge anti-extradition law demonstrations in 2020. Jean-Pierre Cabestan (Hong Kong Baptist University) explores the events leading up to the backlash against civic activism, the current state of democracy in Hong Kong and its future prospects.

Since the recording of this episode, the Apple Daily has been forced to close. It was the last print news outlet openly critical of the Chinese government.

 

Season 2: Episode 5

What keeps democracies alive?

Over the series, our focus has often been on the serious challenges that democracies face all over the world today. We have also highlighted how they can and are degenerating and morphing into authoritarianism. But this episode flips the perspective to understand how we can foster and nurture democratic spaces and practices in our societies. Professor Till Van Rahden (Université de Montréal) discusses why we should move beyond an institutional view of democracy as a system of government. We explore with him how democracy is a fragile way of life that needs constant care and how it can be protected.

 

Season 2: Episode 4

What is the legacy of Egypt’s Arab Spring, 10 years on?

10 years ago anti-government protests in Tunisia sparked a wave of spontaneous uprisings against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. The Arab Spring was met with repression by governments in the region, but ultimately led to the ousting of rulers such as Ben Ali in Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. But the hope that these changes would usher a new era of democracy in the region has been belied. Michael Wahid Hanna (International Crisis Group) helps us understand the turbulent events of 2011 in Egypt, what changes they led to and why prospects for democracy in the country still appear bleak.

 

Season 2: Episode 3

What ails Indian democracy today?

Most western academics were skeptical about the future of India, the world’s largest democracy, throughout the 1950s to the 1970s. It succeeded beyond all expectations in mobilizing large-scale electoral participation especially among poor and illiterate voters. And yet today its very existence seems to hang in the balance as the country faces a deep crisis of liberal, secular democratic norms, values and institutional practices. Freedom House even downgraded India from a free democracy to a „partially free democracy“ last year. So what ails Indian democracy so suddenly? Yogendra Yadav (a leading political theorist and leader of the Swaraj India party established in 2016) helps us make sense of the past, present and future of democracy in India.

 

Season 2: Episode 2

Does liberalism need reinvention in the 21st century?

The decline and even death of liberalism has been predicted often. Today it faces challenges not only from populism in Europe and the US but also from China offering an illiberal alternative that may prove attractive to leaders in the global South. In this episode, Professor Timothy Garton Ash (University of Oxford) joins us to analyze the future of liberalism. We discuss what liberalism can learn from its mistakes to emerge stronger.

 

SEASON 2: EPISODE 1

Covid-19: How can we democratize vaccine access?

Covid-19 vaccines have been developed in record time and are being distributed around the world. But issues like vaccine hesitancy, slow production and unequal access between as well as within countries are inhibiting the global vaccination progress needed to combat the pandemic. In this first episode of season 2, we’re joined by Dr. Suerie Moon (Graduate Institute) to explore how vaccine nationalism and patents pose obstacles to increasing vaccine production.

 

SEASON 1: Episode 10

Democracy from below: What real utopias can we build on?

Citizens have a crucial role to play in political life and can have tremendous power, as they come together in associations and social movements. To close this first season, Professor  Mary Kaldor (London School of Economics) lends us her experience as both an academic and an activist in the peace and human rights movements to discuss what role civil society plays in keeping democracy alive and healthy, and what real utopias we can build on.

 

 

SEASON 1: episode 9

Can liberal democracy outlive climate change?

Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, the issue on everyone’s minds was climate change. Scientists have been raising the alarm for the good part of three decades, but politicians the world over have been slow to react, even as more citizens have been calling for radical action. In this episode, we’re joined by Michael Ignatieff (Central European University) to find out whether liberal democracy is up for the fight against climate change, and whether that fight could affect the political system itself.

 

 

SEASON 1: Episode 8

How do economic inequalities corrode democratic processes?

Capitalism has come under attack in recent years, notably because of growing economic inequalities not only between the global North and South, but also within Western countries. Some critics even cast doubt on its legitimacy and ability to create and preserve a just and equitable society. In this episode, the economist Branko Milanovic helps us understand how economic inequalities systematically corrode democratic processes.

 

SEASON 1: Episode 7

How does austerity politics weaken democracy?

Since the introduction of neoliberal policies under Thatcher and Reagan many countries worldwide have implemented austerity politics that dismantled social security programs by cutting public funding. Our guest today, the renowned British economist, Lord Skidelsky has argued that liberal democracy rests on a welfare state, so that austerity politics and the rise of populism in the West are interlinked. So this time we ask: can liberal democracy co-exist with a politics austerity?

 

SEASON 1: Episode 6

What will remain of Trumpism going forward?

Joe Biden was declared the next president of the United States over a month ago now, but Donald Trump has not yet conceded his defeat. Claiming voter fraud, he has launched legal battles to try to undo the results of the election, to no avail. What mechanisms, institutions and narratives has he used? And to what long term effects? In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Timothy Snyder (Yale University) and Ivan Krastev (Centre for Liberal Strategies and IWM) to understand what will remain of Trumpism going forward and how it will impact democratic legitimacy in America.

 

SEASON 1: Episode 5
‘Soft Authoritarianism’, a New Face of Electoral Democracy?

A new kind of elected leader has emerged across the globe: one who rules with a large parliamentary majority and this with a claim to democratic legitimacy, but who uses power to hollow out democracy from the inside. So is such ‘soft authoritarianism’ that uses the law to undermine liberal principles a new face of electoral democracy? Professor John Keane (University of Sydney) helps us dissect this pervasive pattern of new despotisms and their strategies of rule.

 

SEASON 1: Episode 4

Can Liberal Democracies Right the Wrongs of Racial and Gender Injustices?

We have recently seen millions of people taking to the streets to protest social, political and environmental injustices. Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop protesters across the world from showing their support to the Black Lives Matter movement. In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Nancy Fraser (The New School) and ask: can liberal democracy provide the distributive justice citizens seem to crave?

 

SEASON 1: Episode 3
Undermining Democracy by Democratic Means: how can we stop it?

As the results of the 2020 US election are trickling in, we are taking a look at how laws – and notably electoral laws – can be used to dismantle the constitutional systems from within. In this episode, our guest Professor Kim Lane Sheppele (Princeton University) helps us understand how a new kind of elected leader is using their democratic mandates to take the whole system apart, how they are getting away with it and what we can do to stop it.

 

SEASON 1: Episode 2
How Viable is Western Liberal Democracy when Transplanted Across the World?

In this episode of Democracy in Question? Shalini Randeria asks if the ideals of liberal democracy – free and fair elections, separation of powers, rule of law and respect for human rights – may be exported easily from the West to other parts of the world? This is a question especially salient when some of these very ideals are being undermined in several countries including the United States (more about this question in the first episode? Further, Prof. Randeria asks her guests, Laurence Whitehead and Yanina Welp, if Western models of democracy ought to be transplanted to other regions of the world at all?

 

SEASON 1: Episode 1
A Trumpian Blip or a Fundamental Flaw in American Democracy?