One way of thinking about democracy is as a game — a game in which freedom, equality, and even lives are at stake. And one way of thinking about the state of our democracy is that one of the two main competitors is no longer playing the game, but trying to destroy it.
As with any game, the rules of democracy only matter if we agree they do.
Ultimately, we can’t prove that things like civil debate, fair elections, and following the law are good things, we just agree that they are, like we might agree that aces are high. Except we’re not playing for chips.
Spencer’s guest this time is a leading expert on the game of democracy, why it matters so much, and how it could come to an end.
Sheri Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University.
Much of her research focuses on how European democracies have developed, struggled, and often failed many times before succeeding. That’s if they do succeed, and if that success lasts. The lasting success of democracy isn’t guaranteed, as we’re all seeing, all too clearly, right now.
Sheri Berman
From Barnard.edu: Sheri Berman is a professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. Her research interests include European history and politics; the development of democracy; populism and fascism; and the history of the left. She has written about these topics for a wide variety of scholarly and non-scholarly publications, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and VOX. She currently serves on the boards of the Journal of Democracy, Dissent and Political Science Quarterly. Her most recent book, Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Regime to the Present Day, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019.
Links
“Why democracies fail — and why that’s okay,” TEDx NewYork, Jan. 15, 2015
“Stopping Democratic Backsliding,” Social Europe, Nov. 1, 2021
“Dealing with the Right-Wing Populist Challenge,” Social Europe, April 12, 2021
“Democracy is (still) worth defending,” Persuasion, March 31, 2021.