Jul 23, 2022🦋 Connecting theory to the messy realities of democratic innovations in practiceBy Lucy J. Parry, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/connecting-theory-to-the-messy-realities-of-democratic-innovations-in-practice/ Lucy J Parry recognises the value of a database of democracy but is concerned about its real-world utility. If this data mountain is to bolster democratic innovation, we need to step away from detached order and engage with the messy…Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 The butterfly effect: representation as fractal politicsBy Alex Prior, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-butterfly-effect-representation-as-fractal-politics/ What does a coastline have in common with effective rhetoric? Each component resembles something bigger, and bigger, and bigger. And what can this sort of fractal pattern show us about politics? To Alex Prior, fractals illustrate successful representation, and the impulses…Mathematics5 min readMathematics5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 How to get to the core of democracyBy Toralf Stark, Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann, and Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/how-to-get-to-the-core-of-democracy/ Toralf Stark, Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann and Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach elaborate on their proposal for a global concept of democracy. To do so, they move away from the institutional perspective to identify a normative good of democracy, to which…Research5 min readResearch5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 The open texture of democracyBy John Capps, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-open-texture-of-democracy/ Democracy comes in lots of different flavours. How do we make sense of this? Is having all these meanings a feature or a bug? John Capps suggests that the idea of ‘open texture’ can help us better understand democratic theory and…Democracy4 min readDemocracy4 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 Democracy: by design and on the moveBy Erica Dorn and Federico Vaz, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/democracy-by-design-and-on-the-move/ Democracy today is a colonial artefact tied to violent borders. Moreover, it produces an increasing number of non-citizens, unable to participate in democracy where they live. …Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 The best use of our limited resources in service of democracy?By Ramon Van Der Does, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-best-use-of-our-limited-resources-in-service-of-democracy/ Jean-Paul Gagnon views the construction of a taxonomy of democracy as a key way to address challenges to democracy. Yet, argues Ramon van der Does, such fundamental research is a luxury we cannot afford if we seek to bring…Democracy4 min readDemocracy4 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 Science of Democracy and the Owl of MinervaBy Petr Špecián, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/science-of-democracy-and-the-owl-of-minerva/ The project of collecting democracy’s words has a quietist undertone. Petr Špecián argues that it provides a desirable counterweight to the activist urge to rethink and redesign the political order. Especially so in today’s challenging times Jean-Paul Gagnon is bound for…Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 For a more critical study of democracyBy Marta Wojciechowska, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/for-a-more-critical-study-of-democracy/ Jean-Paul Gagnon’s project involves the collection, labelling, and organisation of published words on democracy. He intends it to help democratic scientists to counter authoritarianism. …Democracy4 min readDemocracy4 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 Reimagining democracy, one word at a timeBy Andreas Avgousti, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/a-democratic-database-and-the-reimagining-of-democracy/ Andreas Avgousti asserts that collecting democracy’s words gives us a window into the democratic imagination. He reads Jean-Paul Gagnon’s expanding database as an illustration of democratic virtues Democracy’s spellbinding power Motivated by a sense of moral urgency at the ebbing fate of democracies worldwide…Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
Jul 23, 2022🦋 Recovering democratic possibilities in complex political systemsBy Antonin Lacelle-Webster, originally published by The Loop, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/recovering-democratic-possibilities-in-complex-political-systems/ Jean-Paul Gagnon’s ambitious project expands our democratic imaginaries. While inspiring, Antonin Lacelle-Webster contends that making sense of democracy requires more than a lexicon. …Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
