Heads of section: Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, Wesleyan University and Ferenc Laczo, Maastricht University
This section concentrates on the theories of (re/de) democratization, on the relationship between democracy and liberalism which is at the heart of the current populist crisis of democracy, as well as on the debates surrounding the notion of citizenship.

Boyd van Dijk on the Making of the Geneva Conventions: The Most Important Rules Ever Formulated for Armed Conflict
In this conversation with Ferenc Laczó, Boyd van Dijk – author of the new monograph “Preparing for War: The Making of the Geneva Conventions” discusses what makes the Geneva Conventions such defining documents when it comes to formulating rules for armed conflict.

Interrogating the Fantasy and Impact of Displacement: A Conversation with Lorenzo Veracini on Settler Colonialism as a Political Idea
In this conversation, Lorenzo Veracini reflects on key ideas in his new intellectual history of settler colonialism The World Turned Inside Out. He outlines the transnational coherence of the political sensibilities and rhetorical traditions of settler colonialism and shows how attention to ideas and practices of displacement might help us make sense of the historical…

Realist Thought Between Empire-Building and Restraint: Matthew Specter on Why a Flawed Tradition Endures
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Matthew Specter discusses key concepts and tropes in the language of realism; the comparisons across the Atlantic that have defined the realist tradition over the generations; the broad appeal of this manner of thinking despite its notable intellectual weaknesses; and the more normative elements of his critique.

Sarah Shortall on the Counter-politics of Theology
In this conversation with RevDem assistant editor Vilius Kubekas, Sarah Shortall discusses the history of the nouvelle théologie movement in France and brings into focus the political dimension of theology.

Can they ever win? The past and future prospects for an opposition victory in Hungary’s competitive authoritarian regime
By analyzing the recent parliamentary elections, the authors attempt to answer a key question for Hungary and Europe: is Viktor Orban and his ruling party defeatable?

Gary Gerstle on the Neoliberal Political Order: An Elite Promise of a World of Freedom and Emancipation (Part II)
In part II of this conversation with Gary Gerstle, he discusses opposed moral perspectives and their compatibility with the neoliberal political order; why the neoliberal order used the coercive power of the state to incarcerate millions; and the ways in which we can observe the retreat of neoliberal hegemony today.

What is Christian Democracy? A Book Discussion with Carlo Invernizzi Accetti
In September CEU Democracy Institute and the Review of Democracy held the symposium “The Past and Present of Christian Democracy” where leading scholars discussed the historical significance and contemporary state of Christian Democracy. The first panel was dedicated to Carlo Invernizzi Accetti’s book “What is Christian Democracy? Politics, Religion and Ideology”. The book was discussed…

Gary Gerstle on the Neoliberal Political Order: An Elite Promise of a World of Freedom and Emancipation (Part I)
In this conversation with Ferenc Laczó, Gary Gerstle discusses key questions tackled in his new “The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era.” Part I covers Gerstle’s interpretation of the longue durée history of liberalism; his encompassing approach to the study of political orders; how the…

Book review: Giuseppe Martinico, Filtering Populist Claims to Fight Populism: The Italian Case in Comparative Perspective (CUP 2021)
Julian Scholtes, a lecturer in EU and Public Law at Newcastle University, reviews “Filtering Populist Claims to Fight Populism: The Italian Case in Comparative Perspective” by Giuseppe Martinico, “a wonderfully written in-depth analysis of the constitutional dimensions of populism in Italy.”

The war in Ukraine is all about democracy vs dictatorship
A dictatorship has just brutally attacked its democratic neighbor. It’s not the first time in history that happens, but there are good reasons to see the war in Ukraine as the first one defining the conflict lines of this century.

Mark R. Beissinger: Revolutions have succeeded more often in our time, but their consequences have become more ambiguous
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Mark R. Beissinger introduces his unique global dataset and probabilistic structural approach to revolution; analyzes the prevalent form of revolution in our age he calls “urban civic”; dissects how the consequences of revolution have shifted over time; and reflects on how revolution may be changing again today.

Historians and Populism: Regional Perspectives and Entanglements
In light of the recent solidifying of what could be named as ‘populist international’, we are opening a conversation on one of the first areas and people that were targeted: history and historians. Populist regimes and their supporters feed themselves on historical myths, distortions and subversion of the public debate on historical themes.

George Soros’ philanthropy is based completely on values: A conversation with Peter Osnos
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Peter Osnos discusses his new edited volume “George Soros: A Life in Full”.

Joshua L. Cherniss on Liberalism and Ethical Commitment in Dark Times [LONG READ]
In this conversation with RevDem assistant editor Vilius Kubekas, Joshua L. Cherniss discusses the central role ethical commitment played in twentieth-century liberalism.

Ukraine: not a war about democracy
In this op-ed by Irina Domurath and Stefano Palestini, they discuss the war in Ukraine and why the West should leave behind the narrative that this is a “war of values.”

Caroline Mezger: Youth and the Politicization of Germanness in Interwar Yugoslavia
A conversation with Caroline Mezger about her book, “Forging Germans: Youth, Nation and the National Socialist Mobilization of Ethnic Germans in Yugoslavia (1918-1944).”

In conversation with Robert Zaretsky: Irresistible Simone Weil
Simone Weil’s figure poses a challenge to each reader of hers. In this conversation, our editor Kasia Krzyżanowska speaks to prof. Robert Zarestky (professor at the University of Houston), about the heroine of his recently published biography: Simone Weil.

Crisis as a trigger for new ways of thinking about politics
A conversation with Cesare Cuttica, László Kontler, and Clara Maier concerning their recently released volume, “Crisis and Renewal in the History of European Political Thought.”

5 Books on Putinism
Our editors Kasia Krzyzanowska and Michal Matlak have selected 5 books that encourage a better understanding of the aggressor: Vladimir Putin and the system he has created.

Maarten Prak: Democracy in medieval and early-modern towns was stronger than democracy post 1789
In this interview with Maarten Prak, hosted by Karen Culver, they discuss Maarten’s book Citizens without Nations: Urban Citizenship in Europe and the World c. 1000-1789. Maarten comments on how citizenship functioned in medieval and early modern Europe; why the term “urban governance” is preferable to “urban democracy”; how accessible guilds were at this time, and more.

Dunstan: Black thinkers have contested the principles of democracy in ways that are central to the experience of these democracies
Sarah Dunstan in conversation with Ferenc Laczó talks about her new monograph “Race, Rights and Reform”, maps the landscape of Black activist thought across the French Empire and the United States from World War One to the Cold War; shows how gender operated in tandem with the dynamics of race and class; underlines how the end of empire connected…

The competitive element in competitive authoritarianism is still very pertinent. Dimitar Bechev on Turkey Under Erdogan
Dimitar Bechev in conversation with Ferenc Laczó discusses the current shape of the Turkish political system.

Marlene Laruelle: Russian society is very different from its regime
Andrea Pető in conversation with Marlene Laruelle about illiberalism studies, whether Russia is fascist, the nature of Russia’s illiberalism, as well as its conservative softpower.

Kiran Klaus Patel: The European Union has unexpectedly become too important to ignore
Ferenc Laczó discusses with Kiran Klaus Patel his latest book “Europäische Integration. Geschichte und Gegenwart” (European Integration: History and the Present Day).

When Christian Democratic Youth Read Herbert Marcuse
In this conversation conducted by Vilius Kubekas, Anna von der Goltz discusses her recent book The Other ‘68ers: Student Protest and Christian Democracy in West Germany.

Suzanne Schneider: How the Apocalypticism of the Islamic State Reflects Global Transformations
Suzanne Schneider discusses the modernity of new forms of jihad; shows how the Islamic State’s organizational structure, understanding of the law, and spectacular violence reflect broader contemporary trends.

Michael Ignatieff: Liberalism has been weakened by its bloodless cosmopolitanism
Michał Matlak speaks with Michael Ignatieff about his recent book On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times, the role of religion in the modern world, whether conservative liberalism is possible today, the cancel culture, the (im)possibility of European integration, and much more.

Stefano Bottoni: How a Child of Kádár’s Time Built a Post-democratic Autocracy [Part 2]
Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič in conversation with Stefano Bottoni, author of a recent Italian-language book about Viktor Orbán.

Montás: Why liberal education is the bedrock of modern-day democracy
In this conversation, hosted by RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Roosevelt Montás discusses his recent book “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation”.

Stefano Bottoni: How a Child of Kádár’s Time Built a Post-democratic Autocracy [Part 1]
Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič in conversation with Stefano Bottoni, author of a recent Italian-language book about Viktor Orbán.

The Rise of the EU Marked the End of the Universal Welfare State. Varela on People’s Histories
In this interview, Agnė Rimkutė discusses with Raquel Varela the importance of seeing the working classes as actors in the historical process and the implications of people’s history for our understanding of democracy.

Feinberg: De-Pathologizing the Recent History of Eastern Europe
Melissa Feinberg in a conversation with Ferenc Laczo on Her New Textbook Communism in Eastern Europe

Dirk Moses on the Diplomacy of Genocide and the Sinister Ambition of Permanent Security [Part II]
Dirk Moses in the second part of his conversation with Ferenc Laczo on the diplomacy of genocide and the deeply sinister ambitions of permanent security

5 Key 2021 Books in History of Ideas
Ferenc Laczó, editor of the History of Ideas section in the Review of Democracy, presents five key books in intellectual history published in 2021.

The Problems of Genocide: Dirk Moses on the Language of Transgression and the Genocide Convention in Context
Dirk Moses in conversation with Ferenc Laczo on his last book “The Problems of Genocide. Permanent Security and the Language of Transgression”.

Marius Turda: The idea of race across centuries and our current moment of reckoning
Marius Turda in conversation with Ferenc Laczo about A Cultural History of Race.

Laszlo Bruszt: The EU confederal regime weakens vulnerable member states
In this interview Laszlo Bruszt, Co-Director of the CEU Democracy Institute and Editor-in-Chief of RevDem, explains the inspiration behind the CEU Democracy Institute and RevDem, how East-West and North-South divisions define Europe, and why the EU confederal regime weakens vulnerable member states.

Dimitry Kochenov: Why we shall abolish citizenship
Professor Dimitry Kochenov in conversation with Michał Matlak explains why he believes citizenship is a “perpetuation of the ideas of aristocracy,” sexism, and racism; what can be done to fix this issue; and what motivated him to write “Citizenship” (MIT Press, 2019).

Emily Greble: European History via the Experience of Muslims
Emily Greble in conversation with Ferenc Laczo discusses what foregrounding Muslims’ agency implies for the writing of European history; what were key legacies of the Ottoman Empire and how Muslims became a distinct legal minority; in what ways they related to the major political movements of the twentieth century; and how focusing on their experiences…

Linking sexual diversity to otherness is an old phenomenon
Bence Bari interviews Tamás Dombos, the representative of the Hungarian LGBTQI organization ‘Háttér Society’ concerning the recently adopted Hungarian anti-LGBT measures, their transnational and historical background with respect to the global dynamics of acceptance, and homophobia between the Western and Eastern hemisphere.

‘In the Name of the Family’: Conference Report on the Budapest Demographic Summit
The authors summarize and contextualize the content of the summit to argue that the conference not only provided an opportunity for its participants to address the ‘demographic crisis’ in Europe and the ‘family politics of conservative’ governments,’ but also amounted to an attempt to develop a transnational narrative for such self-declared conservatives that could unite…

What After the Pandemic?
Kasia Krzyżanowska reviews for us “Pandemonium” by Luuk van Middelaar, a book that summarizes the crisis he deems as most important for the EU in decades: the coronavirus pandemic.

Emily Levine on the Hard Compromises behind Academic Innovation
In conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Emily Levine (Stanford University) discusses key ideas in her new book “Allies and Rivals: German-American Exchange and the Rise of the Modern Research University”, a transatlantic monograph that draws on extensive historical research and applies sociological theory to study how the academic social contract was repeatedly renegotiated in…

The Price of Optimism. A Conversation with Geert Mak about Europe in Our Times
In this wide-ranging conversation occasioned by the release of his The Dream of Europe. Travels in the Twenty-First Century, Geert Mak discusses why he chose to write a sequel to “In Europe. Travels Through the Twentieth Century”.

Márki-Zay would be a Never Trump Republican in America
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Gábor Tóka talks about the Fall 2021 Hungarian opposition primaries

Zsolt Enyedi: Is it still possible to win an election in Hungary, if you’re not Viktor Orbán?
Michal Matlak interviews Zsolt Enyedi about the development of Church-State relations in Hungary, Viktor Orban’s vision of Christian Democracy, why the Democracy Institute plays an important symbolic role in Budapest, and about his recently published book, “Party System Closure: Party Alliances, Government Alternatives, and Democracy in Europe”

Lea Ypi: Ideas of freedom across a historical rupture
Lea Ypi in conversation with Ferenc Laczo about her new memoir “Free: Coming of Age at the End of History” and how the people who populate its pages help her connect historical experiences with philosophical thought; how she experienced and dealt with the rupture of 1990 that forced her to reassess her childhood; how that…

“History as Democracy”: Interview with László Kontler
In this podcast, our assistant editor Bence Bari interviews László Kontler, the research affiliate of the CEU Democracy Institute’s History workgroup project, titled “History as Democracy.”

The Chancellor. A conversation with Kati Marton about Angela Merkel
Ferenc Laczó in conversation with Kati Marton about her biography of Angela Merkel. The conversation focuses on Kati Marton’s motivation to paint a human portrait of Angela Merkel, on Merkel’s personality traits and how they have impacted the style and substance of her political leadership.

Thinking like Hannah Arendt
Our editor Kasia Krzyżanowska (EUI, CEU) talks with Samantha Rose Hill, professor at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, about her recently published biography of Hannah Arendt.

Aldo Madariaga: Neoliberalism is not a solution for democracy
Aldo Madariaga discusses his latest book “Neoliberal Resilience: Lessons in Democracy and Development from Latin America and Eastern Europe” with our editor, Giancarlo Grignaschi.

From Socialist to Capitalist Walls
Gábor Scheiring reviews „Taking stock of shock. Social consequences of the 1989 revolutions” by Kristen Ghodsee and Mitchell Orenstein

Why is the collective protection of democracy in the Americas doomed to fail? The Inter-American Charter at 20
Stefano Palestini writes about the Inter-American Democratic Charter on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

An Authoritarian Liberal Europe? In Conversation with Michael Wilkinson
Oliver Garner interviews the author on his book ‘Authoritarian Liberalism and the Transformation of Modern Europe’

Democracy Rules. A Book Discussion with Jan-Werner Müller and His Critics
Gráinne de Búrca, Jan Kubik, Jeffrey Isaac, and Karolina Wigura comment on the new book by Jan Werner Müller. Afterwards the author responds to the commentators.

Deadlock of Western liberalism. Petr Agha Reviews a Book by Krastev and Holmes
The Light that Failed: A Reckoning fails to deliver a fresh interpretation which would venture beyond the traditional liberal mantra. It is a representation of the contemporary deadlock of Western liberalism.

Invernizzi Accetti: Christian Democracy That Can Counter Right-Wing Populists
Vilius Kubekas in conversation. with the author of the book “What is Christian Democracy? Politics, Religion and Ideology”.

Will the EU survive the rise of democratorships within? Karolewski and Leggewie on the new quality of politics in the Visegrád states
Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski on the new quality of politics in the Visegrád states.

The West’s Strategic Mistakes and Broken Resolve. Jonathan Holslag on World Politics Since 1989
Our editor Ferenc Laczo interviews Jonathan Hoslag (Free University Brussels) on his book “World Politics Since 1989” (Polity Press).

LaTosha Brown: Culture will eat strategy for breakfast
RevDem editor Ferenc Laczo interviews LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the voting rights group Black Voters Matter.

Talisse: To Be a Democratic Citizen
Katarzyna Krzyżanowska talks with Robert Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, on epistemology of democracy.

Konrad Jarausch on Realistic Progress
RevDem editor Ferenc Laczo interviewed historian Konrad H. Jarausch, Lurcy Professor of European Civilization at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, about his latest book Embattled Europe: A Progressive Alternative, a rich and finely balanced portrait of contemporary Europe.

New Crises: Science, Morality and Democracy in the 21st Century
Wolfgang Merkel in his op-Ed analyses three aspects of democracy crises: scientistation, moralisation and polarisation.

Samuel Moyn on the US’ Attempt to Humanise its Imperial Burden
Ferenc Laczo in conversation with Samuel Moyn (Yale University) about his book “Humane. How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War”.

A Not Wasted Life. Conversation with Zygmunt Bauman’s biographer Artur Domosławski
Artur Domoslawski, the author of a monumental Zygmunt Bauman’s biography in conversation with our managing editor, Michał Matlak

Rising Inequality in Egalitarian Societies
In conversation with our editor Ferenc Laczo, Mitchell Orenstein, Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses post-communist transitions.

Contesting German Memory Culture. A Conversation with Jennifer Evans on the Catechism Debate
Ferenc Laczo talks with Jennifer Evans (Carleton University) about the new Holocaust memory debate.

Can Technology Save Democracy?
How can we employ technology to facilitate the democratic process? Which platforms are more democratic than others? These and more questions are answered by Kevin Esterling, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of California in a conversation with the RevDem assistant editor, Catherine Wright.

Statelessness and the Global Political Order. A Conversation with Mira Siegelberg
Ferenc Laczo discusses with Mira Siegelberg her latest book “Statelessness”, the story of a much-contested legal category.

How East-West Dynamics Define Europe
In his article, Ferenc Laczo writes about the roots of the division of Europe into East and West and its consequences for European politics today.

What Are the Sources of Democratic Legitimacy? Till van Rahden on Democracy as a Way of Life
Elias Buchetmann talks to Till van Rahden about his latest book Demoracy: A Fragile Way of Life, which focuses on the history of democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany and raises fundamental questions about the nature of democracy around the world.

An American in a Strangely Familiar World. Ben Rhodes explores the world the U.S. has made
Ferenc Laczo reviews “After the Fall. Being American in the World We’ve Made” by Ben Rhodes.

How the U.S. decided to lead the world. Wertheim on the transformation of American internationalism
Ferenc Laczó spoke to Stephen Wertheim about his new book, Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of US Global Diplomacy. The book explores the moment in which the US decided to lead the post-war world.

A limited and cautious democracy. Interview with Martin Conway
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Ferenc Laczo discuss with Martin Conway his latest book “Western Europe’s Democratic Age,1945-1968”. You can listen to the podcast or read the edited transcript below.

Remaking politics in response to the assault on natural world
RevDem Editor Ferenc Laczo is discussing the book “Planet on Fire. A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown” by Mathew Lawrence and Laurie Laybourn-Langton with its authors.

The New Logic of Democratic Politics [Podcast and Interview]
Our editor Ferenc Ferenc Laczó talks with Chris Bickerton about his latest book Technopopulism.

Ernst Fraenkel – a Jewish lawyer who resisted the Nazis
Kasia Krzyżanowska talks to Douglas G. Morris, a legal historian and practicing criminal defense attorney with Federal Defenders of New York, about his newest book on Ernst Fraenkel.

Stasavage: Democracy requires continuous effort (PODCAST AND LONG READ)
David Stasavage (New York University) in conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczo (Maastricht University) about his recent book “The Decline and Rise of Democracy”, which presents the global history of democracies since ancient times.

Sustainable Democracy after 25 years. Conversation with Adam Przeworski
Our editor-in-chief Laszlo Bruszt asks Adam Przeworski about the contemporary relevance of “Sustainable democracy”, a seminal book published 25 years ago.

Fascism to Populism and Back Again? [PODCAST AND LONG READ]
RevDem editor Ferenc Laczo (Maastricht University) talks with Federico Finchelstein (New School for Social Research, New York) about his two recent books: “From Fascism to Populism in History” and “A Brief History of Fascist Lies”.

A Certain Anachronistic Appeal. On Conversations with Francis Fukuyama
On the 3rd of May, the Georgetown University Press will publish “After the End of History. Conversation with Francis Fukuyama”. Our editor Ferenc Laczo from Maastricht University reviews the volume.

We cannot analytically divide reason from emotion
In the second part of the conversation, Jan-Werner Müller interviewed by Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič talks about populism and employment of emotions, and on bipartisanship and political conflict.

Far-right Demonstrations — They Are Not Going Anywhere
Michael Zeller, in a conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, talks about far-right mobilization campaigns and the processes of their de-mobilization.

For what does democracy need political parties?
Jan-Werner Müller, in an interview with Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, talks about the functions of contemporary political parties, the role of the constitutional courts and the future of European Christian Democracy.

The Politics of Antipopulism
The mainstream media and academia as well as political elites identify populist movements as the most important threat to the current liberal democratic regime. Populist actors have indeed unsettled and begun reshaping the European political landscape.

We’ve Gotten the Ogre Out of the Way
Samuel Moyn in an interview with RevDem editor Katarzyna Nowicka talks about the legacy of Donald Trump and the presidency of Joe Biden.

Enemies at the Liberal Democratic Gates
Is America living in the shadow of the post-Cold War liberalism? Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins argues that some liberal intellectuals are still looking for an enemy who can give a cause to their political actions.