From The Monkey Cage, Anna Lührmann and Matthew Wilson on how one-third of the world’s population lives in a declining democracy — that includes the United States. Why are so many democracies breaking down? The democratic coming apart: Joshua Cohen interviews David Runciman, author of How Democracy Ends. From velvet revolution to velvet dictatorship: Adam Michnik on democratic regression. George Soros bet big on liberal democracy — now he fears he is losing. Daniel Bessner on the George Soros philosophy — and its fatal flaw. The dangers of democratic determinism: Damir Marusic on why neoconservatives, liberal internationalists, and democracy activists are misreading the present moment. Is democracy really in danger? The picture is not as dire as you think (and more). Liberal world: Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry on the resilient order.
Luke William Hunt (Radford): Norms, Narratives, and Politics. Channeling the anti-Trump #Resistance, a slew of recent books seeks to reduce democracy to a defense of political “norms” — but overcoming today’s crisis will take more political imagination. Forget norms — our democracy depends on values. Pankaj Mishra reviews The People v. Democracy: Why Our Freedom is in Danger and How to Save It by Yascha Mounk and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World by Samuel Moyn. Centrists are the most hostile to democracy, not extremists (and a response).
