Democracy Archives - Page 26 of 97

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Can Democracy Be Established Undemocratically?

The Ethical and Political Dilemmas of the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution

November 29, 2019 • by Muriel Blaive

November 17th, 2019 was the thirtieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. This revolution, marvelous though it was, and its aftermath, I believe, demonstrates that creating a mature democracy out of thin air is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The apparent success of the revolution hid flaws that seemed ...

Can Democracy Be Established Undemocratically?

Politics

Evo Morales’ Presidency in Bolivia was Imperfect and Contested

His Removal from Power is Still a Coup

November 26, 2019 • by Ian Zuckerman

When the military intervenes to depose a democratically elected leader, it’s a coup. Let’s get that out of the way. Even if that leader’s mandate has never been accepted by segments of the population, even if the leader goes on to alienate some original supporters, even if there are large public protests against the ...

Evo Morales’ Presidency in Bolivia was Imperfect and Contested

North America

Brief Midday Thoughts about Sondland and the Impeachment

Only politics can save us!

November 20, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Only this can save us, if we can yet be saved. I have long argued that impeachment proceedings are one necessary form of resistance to the Trumpist assault on liberal democracy and that such proceedings ought to be understood primarily as political rather than narrowly legal processes. Everything that is now ...

North America

Can Bernie Do It?

An economist takes a hard look at the Sanders platform

November 19, 2019 • by James K. Galbraith

But is he a plausible president? By that, I don't mean in comparison to Donald Trump, as implausible a president as there ever was. Sanders is a lifetime political figure with forty years of elected experience and intimate knowledge of Capitol Hill and of the federal government. But he is ...

North America

A Great Opportunity Missed

The Democrats should’ve exposed Republican Hypocrisy and Cynicism about Corruption

November 14, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

The lowest point of the Republican questioning came when efforts were made, by Jordan and others, to suggest that Trump’s insistence on Ukrainian investigations into Biden, Bursima, and Crowd Strike was based on his deep and sincere commitment to fighting corruption in a corrupt country. This suggestion is risible. And yet ...

Latin America & Caribbean

Legitimacy and Democracy in Bolivia

Rejecting Simplistic Readings of the Morales Ouster

November 12, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

It is clear that one important dimension of this polarization was the defection of important elements of the police and the armed forces. The New York Times reported that “Bolivian Military Asks Morales to Resign to Ensure Stability,” quoting General Williams Kaliman, the chief military commander: “"After analyzing the internal conflict situation, ...

Europe & Central Asia

The Roots of Right-Wing Populism in Central and Eastern Europe

At the nexus of neoliberalism and the global culture wars

November 9, 2019 • by Elżbieta Korolczuk

Clearly, the tensions between what was promised in 1989 and what was delivered two decades after were one of the factors that facilitated the victories of right-wing populist parties in the region, but the connection between the two is neither straightforward nor is disillusionment with democracy unique to the post-communist ...

North America

Wall Street Critiques of Progressive Democrats Ring Hollow

November 6, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

I’ll save you some time: it’s a nasty, polemical hit job on Elizabeth Warren. Its core claim is neatly summed up in its subtitle: Warren’s “big government plans would damage rather than improve our economy.” Rattner rehearses the conventional criticisms of Warren’s ambitious agenda, with special attention, of course, to ...

North America

“This is Our Campaign”

What The Bernie Sanders Campaign Means For Racial Justice

October 25, 2019 • by Mat Cusick

Before a sold-out audience of about 200 attendees of a broad spectrum of age, race, and background, and over 10,000 viewers watching online by livestream, these three black women attempted to clarify why Bernie Sanders -- the 78-year-old white man who has served for nearly three decades as a national ...

North America

Simple Is Sometimes Simplistic, and Stupid

Is it Really Smart to Narrow the Impeachment?

October 22, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

A focused impeachment that builds public support is surely a good thing; I’ve been arguing this for the past six months. But it seems extremely foolish to believe that focus can only be achieved through a narrowing of vision, and it seems worse than foolish to believe that Trump’s other abuses of power ...

The Left

Keeping the Left Alive: Michael Walzer’s Political Action Reissued

If any book can help left-wing activists figure out how not to burn out, this is probably it

October 22, 2019 • by Geoffrey Kurtz

That hopeful and interesting work is the subject of Walzer’s book Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics. Originally published in the spring of 1971 and reissued this year by New York Review Books, Political Action is in a genre by itself. Like an organizing manual but more thoughtful and suggestive, like ...

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 ...