Larry Bartels Says Democracy Erodes from the Top

04/04/23 • 53 min

Democracy is a much more complicated thing than we often give it credit for and certainly speaking dichotomously about democracy being in crisis or not is an oversimplification.

Larry Bartels
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Larry Bartels is the May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University and a Co-Director for the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. His new book is called Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:34
A Crisis of Democracy? 3:02
Populism 23:20
Political Restraint - 37:49
What is Democracy? 44:51

Key Links

Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe by Larry Bartels
Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government by Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels
Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions

Democracy Paradox Podcast
Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
Jason Brownlee Believes We Underestimate Democratic Resilience
More Episodes from the Podcast

More Information
Democracy Group
Apes of the State created all Music
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Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast
100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

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Democracy is a much more complicated thing than we often give it credit for and certainly speaking dichotomously about democracy being in crisis or not is an oversimplification.

Introduction - 0:34
A Crisis of Democracy? 3:02
Populism 23:20
Political Restraint - 37:49
What is Democracy? 44:51

Key Links

Democracy Paradox Podcast
Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
Jason Brownlee Believes We Underestimate Democratic Resilience
More Episodes from the Podcast

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

Support the show

Previous Episode

Samuel Woolley on Bots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Propaganda

One of the things that we see happening online is sort of a democratization of propaganda.
Samuel Woolley
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Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.
A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Samuel Woolley is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and the project director for propaganda research at the Center for Media Engagement. His most recent book is Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:43
Background on Technology (including Bots) - 3:00
Artificial Intelligence - 10:17
Democratization of Propaganda - 20:44
The Legitimation of Ideas - 30:48

Key Links
Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity by Samuel Woolley
"Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers" in the Journal of Democracy by Samuel Woolley
Center for Media Engagement
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Richard Wike Asked Citizens in 19 Countries Whether Social Media is Good for Democracy
Ronald Deibert from Citizen Lab on Cyber Surveillance, Digital Subversion, and Transnational Repression
More Episodes from the Podcast
More Information
Democracy Group
Apes of the State created all Music
Email the show at [email protected]
Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast
100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

Support the show

Next Episode

Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq

The Iraqis suffered so heavily and not just because of the 2003 war. The first war in 1991 inflicted terrible damage on Iraq and then the next 10 years of sanctions immiserated the populace and inflicted an especially punishing blow on Iraqi women and children.

Steven Simon
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Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.
A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Steven served on the National Security Council staff from 1994 to 1999 and again fro 2011 to 2012. Earlier he served in the State Department for fifteen years. He is currently a Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies and his most recent book is Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:43
Iran - 4:41
JCPOA - 22:58
The Iraq Wars - 27:19
Saudi Arabia - 32:57

Key Links
Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East by Steven Simon
Learn more about Steven Simon
"America's Great Satan" By Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon in Foreign Affairs
Democracy Paradox Podcast
Robert Kagan Looks to American History to Explain Foreign Policy Today
Zoltan Barany on the Ineffectiveness of the Gulf Militaries
More Episodes from the Podcast
More Information
Democracy Group
Apes of the State created all Music
Email the show at [email protected]
Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast
100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

Support the show

Democracy Paradox - Larry Bartels Says Democracy Erodes from the Top

Transcript

A few years ago Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa wrote a short piece in the Journal of Democracy called “The Democratic Disconnect.” They argued a growing number of people had become disillusioned with democracy itself. It sparked a lot of conversations, because it had some serious implications. If more and more people no longer cared for democracy, then people would not stand up to elites during episodes of democratic backsliding. Worse yet they may even look for leaders who c