Rules of the Game – discussing democratic institutions

Women occupy only 24% of seats in the U.S. Senate, and 28% of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Only 18% of governors are women, and there has never been a female US president as we all know. With Cynthia Richie Terrell I discuss the representation of women in politics. She is the Executive Director and Founder of RepresentWomen , an organization that pushes for parity of women in U.S. p...

Since Hugo Chávez came to power in the presidential election in 1998, Venezuela has experienced a staggering democratic erosion, with increasing levels of repression. As soon as Chávez assumed office, he initiated the writing of a new constitution through a controversial process that was approved by citizens in two referendums, yet with very low turnout. With Maryhen Jiménez I discuss how Venezuel...

Turkey has experienced a severe erosion of democratic principles. Democratic institutions have been changed, the media heavily influenced and controlled by government forces, and opposition politicians are intimidated and persecuted. With Esra İşsever-Ekinci I discuss Turkey's democratic backsliding. She explains what steps the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) took to secure their pow...

Brazil’s democratic journey has been one of great hopes and progress, yet also one of disappointments and distrust in democratic institutions. Brazil is a vast country of 214 million people, organized in a federation of 26 states and the Federal District of Brasilia. Using a bicameral system, the Chamber of Deputies represents the people, while the Senate represents the states. The president is el...

The two-round presidential elections in France back in April created lots of discussions in the media and widespread concerns that a right-wing candidate, Marine Le Pen, would rise to power. Yet, Emmanuel Macron prevailed in the second round with 58% of the vote. Very soon, on June 12th and 19th, voters in France are going to the polls to elect the 577 members of the National Assembly. With Emilia...

The draft of the new constitution of Chile is now published. The constitutional convention met for the first time on 4 July 2021 and has now completed a draft constitution that the people of Chile will vote on in September 2022. It has been a process of inspiration and hope, but also of controversies, and especially of hard constitutional work. With Gabriel Negretto I discuss the main political in...

What most people think of when they hear deliberative democracy probably are citizens’ assemblies. Deliberation is the process of thoughtfully discussing a specific topic, weighing different options, and using logic and reason to form opinions within a group, that then may lead to a decision or consensus.  With Ian O’Flynn, I discuss various forms of deliberative democracy, from parliaments,...

Federalism is power-sharing among regions and the central government of a country. It is the vertical division of power. It’s a joint agreement of regions, of states, of communities, that leaves the subnational governments the choice and possibility to find their own appropriate, tailor-made governance solutions for its communities. Federalism can only work with strong democratic institutions. It...

Women in Switzerland lacked direct political power until 1971. Up until then, women didn’t have the right to vote and the right to be elected – at least the national level –, despite efforts to introduce women’s suffrage that had started already a hundred years earlier. Yet, once full political rights were obtained, women used the available political instruments and power with strategy and determi...

Kenya’s 2010 constitution introduced substantial changes to the vertical allocation of political power that has been exercised at two tiers of government since then: the central government and the 47 counties. Despite the devolution of many of Kenya's government functions, the country is organized as a unitary state, and hence county governments are not as independent as in a truly federal structu...

The Swiss Federal Council is a 7-member council that constitutes the executive branch of government. Instead of concentrating power in one person only, as in a presidential system, power is shared among 7 people, the members of the council who are also ministers of the government departments. The 7 Federal Councillors are elected by the joint-session of the two chambers of parliament for a fixed t...

What are political institutions and how did they evolve over time? In this episode I tell the story of how small, local societies based on kin were integrated into monarchies, and then finally made the transition to democracy.  First though, I comment on the devastating, barbaric attack by Putin on Ukraine. This is not only an insane assault on the Ukrainian people, but also on freedom, democ...

Presidentialism and parliamentarism are the two main forms of government used around the world. Yet, what are the characteristics and problems with these systems and may there exist other forms of government that combine the benefits of both systems – ensuring the separation of powers and avoiding executive personalism? One answer is semi-parliamentarism. With Steffen Ganghof I discuss his recent...

Taiwan’s democratic and economic development have been truly remarkable. In the process its direct democratic institutions have become a pivotal political tool for the citizen to guide major political decisions. With Yen-Tu Su I discuss the astounding development of Taiwan’s direct democracy since its early days, and its crucial revisions and improvements in its usability since 2003. The now rulin...

In this episode I propose to change the Swiss constitution to implement a single transferable vote electoral system to elect the members of the Council of States (called Ständerat in German). The Council of States is the Senate of Switzerland, the upper of two co-equal chambers, representing the 26 Cantons (states) in the federal government structure. The electoral reform would mean to use ranked...

Can there be too much democracy? What are anti-democrats and how do they undermine democracy? How can direct democratic instruments give people more decision making power? Are citizen assemblies a way to strengthen democracy? I discuss these and many more questions with Roslyn Fuller who has written extensively on defending democracy.  Democracy needs to be defended not only against autocrats...

Reforms of US electoral systems both at the local and national level would fundamentally change US politics. The two parties, that are a consequence of the single-seat plurality voting, fully control all democratic institutions. Only by making the electoral systems more proportional could outsider parties compete fairly against the Republican and Democratic party.  With Jack Santucci I d...

There are broadly speaking two forms of government: Parliamentarism and presidentialism. The main difference is that in a parliamentary system the government is subordinated to the parliament and accountable to that parliament. While a president in a presidential system is elected by the people for a fixed term and does not depend on parliament, but is accountable to the people. Examples of parlia...

Nigeria’s youth is creative, vibrant and energetic. Nigeria’s youth has tremendous potential and wants to thrive. My guest Greg Anyaegbudike shares how Nigerians strive and struggle to make their voices heard, and to keep governments at all levels accountable.  With Greg I discuss how Nigeria’s grass-roots political movements and NGOs try to build pressure on political institutions and how th...

What makes a political system a democracy? Should we be surprised when people lose faith in a system called democracy that is not democratic? What makes a political system more balanced and robust to extremist views? In this episode I want to take a step back and present some of my thoughts about the state of democracy around the world. I try to answer these questions and share my personal opinion...

Chile is in the process of drafting a brand new constitution. The current constitution is rooted in the dictatorship of Pinochet and does not serve modern Chile. My guest, Claudia Heiss, recounts the fear and tension during her childhood in the years of repression, and how that shaped her motivation to become a researcher of democracy. She shares with us how public pressure on the streets of Chile...

Nigeria has had varied journey of democratic accountability and federal governance since its transition to a civilian rule in 1999. Most political attention is centered around the presidency and the powerful state governors, while the country's oil wealth generating immense tax revenues make holding political office a lucrative venture. As the Nigerian constitution has been inspired by the US...

How can political power be shared in a multicultural society? And what institutions can make multicultural societies more inclusive, balanced, and give people more control over political decisions and local public goods? Together with Sean Müller, I discuss power-sharing institutions as a crucial element of the success of Swiss democracy. The development of inclusive institutions was a long and tr...

Direct democracy is a powerful political institution. It is the people's veto power in government. Used in the right way, it is an important check on representative democracy and a way to break politicians and parties’ coalitions directed against the common interest of the voters, thus a way to hedge against excessive politics by elected representatives. Together with Stefan Schlegel, I discuss ba...

Political institutions and power have been changing in Zimbabwe since Robert Mugabe took power as a liberator from colonial oppression in the year 1980. The image of the liberator Robert Mugabe speaking to the public in 1987 is also one of McDonald Lewanika's early childhood memories of politics. While the electoral institutions were more proportional and inclusive in the early 1980s, the dominant...