RevDem Podcast

In this conversation with Sheri Berman, Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, we engage with her key argument that growing support for right-wing populism is primarily a consequence of mainstream parties’ failure to address popular concerns about immigration. We dissect the ‘representation gap’ argument, discuss alternative explanations (namely, the issue of racism and xenophobia), ex...

What were the defining events of 2024? Which new publications impressed us the most? What do we expect from the upcoming year in global politics and in terms of new intellectual trends?  Today, we, editors of the Review of Democracy bring you our traditional end of the year podcast. 2024 has been another exciting year for our journal. We have managed to expand in new directions, doubling our core...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy , Todd Stern – former United States Special Envoy for Climate Change – explains what made the Paris Climate Agreement such a groundbreaking document and what kind of bargaining and compromises it took to make it happen; discusses the place and role of the US within its broad coalition as well as his extensive engagement with his crucial Chinese partn...

International law is a live instrument in the current global geopolitical crisis. This latest RevDem Rule of Law podcast, conducted by Konstantin Kipp with Professor Tom Ginsburg, reflects upon the potentially authoritarian nature of international law in its function of enabling relations between states. Authoritarian regimes have traditionally been reluctant to engage in robust forms of internati...

In this conversation at the  Review of Democracy , Ionuț Biliuță discusses the connections between Orthodoxy and nationalism in Romania and to what extent they have influenced this year’s presidential elections; the revival of narratives concerning ‘fascist martyrs’ by Călin Georgescu and other radicals; the impact the 2018 Constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage had on radicalization;  the...

Join Review of Democracy Latin American Editor Gabriel Pereira as he hosts Andrés Malamud , a leading scholar of Latin American politics, to discuss a crucial development in current political affairs: the rise of successful political outsiders in Latin America. The podcast focuses on and draws lessons from the experience of current Argentine president Javier Milei. It delves into pivotal questions...

We are thrilled to publish the second episode of our monthly special in cooperation with the  Journal of Democracy . In the framework of this new partnership, authors shall discuss outstanding articles from the newest print issue of the  Journal of Democracy . In this conversation, Grzegorz Ekiert and Noah Dasanaike explain their concept of dictatorial drift and how various countries have moved to...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy , Karin van Leeuwen, Aleksandra Komornicka, and Koen van Zon – contributors to The Unfinished History of European Integration that has now appeared in a revised edition – elucidate the main questions that organize their overview of European integration history; reflect on the applicability and usefulness of various influential theories when trying to...

Join Review of Democracy Ideas editor Alexandra Medzibrodszky as she hosts Professor Andrew March , a leading scholar of political philosophy and Islamic thought, to discuss On Muslim Democracy: Essays and Dialogues . The book focuses on Rached Ghannouchi’s political thought and offers a unique perspective on the intersection of Islamic principles and modern democratic governance. The podcast delv...

In this conversation with Kristin M. Plys, we delve deeply into the nature and quality of Indian democracy by examining the legacy and impact of its resistance movements. Plys’ recent book, Brewing Resistance (Cambridge University Press, 2020), studies the Indian Coffee House movement—a unique, worker-driven cooperative that flourished in the 1970s. This movement not only symbolized a shared space...

The Second World Approaches to International Law (SWAIL) project, which will be launched at Central European University in Vienna in February 2025,  aims to establish a more accurate way of conceptualising East Central Europe’s position in, and relationship with, international law. Three themes arise continuously throughout the podcast: liminality, domination, and the emancipatory potential of int...

In our new podcast, Mikal Hem discusses what modern dictators and autocrats seem to have learned from their predecessors, reflects on what might drive voters toward leaders with autocratic tendencies, considers what democratic societies can learn from the survival strategies of dictators, and contemplates how the resilience of free media could be strengthened in autocracies. The conversation was r...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy , Alice Evans discusses the great gender divergence and how we might explain that some countries are much more gender equal than others; considers whether the history of gender is essentially about female emancipation in modern times but also whether even the most gender equal countries in the world today remain rather patriarchal; and reflects on th...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, Enikő Gyureskó- the Festival Director of VerzióInternational Human Rights Documentary Film Festival – discusses the program of the Verzió Film Festival, which will take place between 6-13 November; the rationale of choosing specific foci in this year's program; the importance of documentaries in raising awareness about contemporary human rights issu...

We are thrilled to publish the first episode of our monthly special in cooperation with the  Journal of Democracy . In the framework of this new partnership, authors shall discuss outstanding articles from the newest print issue of the  Journal of Democracy  each month. This conversation with Professor Kanchan Chandra offers an incisive exploration of the strengths and limitations of modern democr...

Join hosts Erin K. Jenne and Letitia Roman as they sit down with political scientist Levente Littvay to discuss the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Together, they explore why Donald Trump remains a prominent GOP candidate despite numerous legal challenges, how polarization and populism intertwine, and the role of conspiracy theories in today’s political climate. They also examine parallels betwee...

In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, Alexandra Medzibrodszky interviews Samuel Hirst on his new book, Against the Liberal Order, the Soviet Union, Turkey and Statist Internationalism from 1919 to 1939. The book examines the collaboration between early Republican Turkey and the Soviet Union during the interwar period, exploring the diplomatic, economic, cultural and international dim...

In June 2024, Martijn van den Brink’s monograph, Legislative Authority and Interpretation in the European Union was published by Oxford University Press. The book tackles deep conceptual issues about the EU legal order, and yet its insights are also relevant for some of the most pressing practical issues facing Europe today. Martijn van den Brink is an Assistant Professor of EU law at Maastricht U...

The European Commission published its fifth annual Rule of Law Report in July 2024. In this RevDem Rule of Law podcast Oliver Garner discusses the effectiveness of this mechanism for upholding the EU's values with Professor Petra Bárd and Professor Laurent Pech. They have collaborated with the CEU Democracy Institute's rule of law clinic to produce a shadow report that will turn the lens back on t...

In this conversation with M. V. Ramana, we delve into one of the most pressing issues of our time: the climate crisis. In response to this crisis, various solutions have been proposed, with nuclear energy emerging as one of the most prominent. After more than a decade of caution following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, a global consensus has gradually formed around nuclear power as a viable...

The Georgian Dream movement came to power over a decade ago. It initially claimed to want to uphold the European integration policies of its predecessor but has slowly moved towards a more sovereign discourse. Over time, Georgian Dream has increasingly fueled affective political polarization, and now accuses its pro-European critics of wanting to drag Georgia into a war with Russia. It has further...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy , Diana Dumitru – co-editor, with Dirk Moses, of the new collection The Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Victims, Perpetrators, Justice, and the Question of Genocide – discusses the motives of various Russian perpetrators in Ukraine and how those motives might have evolved over time; shows how useful the concept of genocide proves when studying the multi...

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been ongoing for 10 years. It started with the occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014 and culminated in the full-scale invasion in 2022. Various domestic and international justice initiatives to ensure accountability for war crimes and other conflict related violations have been unfolding since 2014. However, 2022 marked the start of a new impo...

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy , Jo Guldi explores the relationship between data sciences and the humanities; shows how the struggle for occupancy rights can help us reconsider global history; explains how her new project approaches climate change; and discusses the type of scholarship she finds most inspiring.

In our new podcast, Roland Freudenstein, Director of the Free Russia Foundation Brussels, and Founder and Executive Officer of the Brussels Freedom Hub discusses Russia’s geopolitical ambitions, how the war in Ukraine may end, and the potentials for a regime change in Moscow; reflects on democratic backsliding in EU Member States; and shares his thoughts about autocrats and how societies can be mo...