We are thrilled to bring you the newest episode of our monthly special in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy. In the framework of this new partnership, authors discuss outstanding articles from the latest print issue of the Journal of Democracy.
In this conversation, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt examine the various types of countermajoritarian institutions and reflect on which are democracy-enhancing and which can potentially subvert democracy. Levitsky and Ziblatt show the connections between the strong countermajoritarian features of the U.S. political system and its ongoing democratic backsliding. They also consider how the trade-offs between countermajoritarianism and democratic stability have played out across the globe.
The conversation is based on Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s article “When Should the Majority Rule?,” published in the January 2025 (36/1) issue of the Journal of Democracy.
The recording was conducted by Ferenc Laczó. Alina Young edited the audio file.
