Democracy

Framing ethical perspectives

Democracy is a form of government in which political control is given to the people, whether directly or through the election of governing officials. Currently, large numbers of people have lost faith in this form of government and some elected officials have been working to dismantle democratic institutions. Our programs, events, and experts strive to better understand this development.

Featured Democracy Resources

State of global democracy, U.S. global engagement, and more

JUN 9, 2021 Podcast

Illiberal Democracy on the Rise: Examining Brazil, Hungary, & India

APR 19, 2022 Podcast

Why Democracy vs. Autocracy Misses the Point, with Jean-Marie Guéhenno

Senior Fellow Anja Kapsersen is joined by Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno for a conversation about virtual communities and the advent of the age of data.

FEB 23, 2024 Article

What Do We Mean When We Talk About "AI Democratization"?

With numerous parties calling for "AI democratization," Elizabeth Seger, director of the CASM digital policy research hub at Demos, discusses four meanings of the term.

Explore Our Democracy Resources

MAR 29, 2018 Podcast

Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy, with William A. Galston

Some unpleasant truths for liberals, from William Galston: The rise of anti-pluralist populist movements is caused by a combination of economic factors and migration; we ...

MAR 22, 2018 Podcast

Piety and Public Opinion: Understanding Indonesian Islam, with Tom Pepinksy

Are there differences in political, social, and economic attitudes among Indonesians--and Indonesian Muslims in particular--based on their levels of religious piety? Intriguingly, Tom Pepinsky and ...

Protest against the Philippine drug war at Philippine Consulate General, New York City, October 2016. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philippines_Drug_War_Protest_2.jpg">VOCAL-NY (CC)</a>

MAR 14, 2018 Podcast

Fighting Threats to Philippine Democracy, with Joy Aceron

"Despite the vibrancy of civil society, political and economic power continues to be in the hands of very few people in the Philippines. In fact, ...

Detail from book cover of <i>The Owners of the Map: Motorcycle Taxis Drivers, Mobility, and Politics in Bangkok</i>

MAR 9, 2018 Podcast

Motorcycles & the Art of Politics in Thailand, with Claudio Sopranzetti

Anthropologist Sopranzetti's new book discusses the surprising role of motorcycle taxi drivers in a recent coup in Thailand, and their important place in everyday Thai ...

Amy Chua. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni

MAR 7, 2018 Podcast

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations, with Amy Chua

"The United States today is starting to display destructive political dynamics much more typically associated with developing countries: ethno-nationalist movements, the erosion of trust in ...

MAR 6, 2018 Podcast

Is Indonesia Becoming Like Pakistan? with Andreas Harsono

The maximum penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan is death, and public protest is not allowed. Indonesia is nowhere near as bad as this--yet. "Indonesia is ...

Timothy Snyder. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni.

FEB 27, 2018 Podcast

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, with Timothy Snyder

Can tyranny happen here? asks historian Timothy Snyder. His chilling answer is, "it can happen, it happens to people like us, and it is happening ...

FEB 27, 2018 Transcript

Just a Journalist: On the Press, Life, and the Spaces Between, with Linda Greenhouse

Where is the line between the role of a citizen and that of a journalist? Should reporters be able to attend demonstrations as private citizens ...

FEB 26, 2018 Podcast

Gandhi's Satyagraha & Social Change, with Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox

Satyagraha, one of Gandhi's most influential teachings, stresses "passive resistance" in the face of injustice. Qunnipiac's Gadkar-Wilcox saw a powerful example of this in regards ...

FEB 26, 2018 Podcast

It's Better than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear, with Gregg Easterbrook

Today, many feel paralyzed by the constant stream of bad news. Yet as Gregg Easterbrook shows, statistics on crime, poverty, and longevity prove that things ...