Democracy Paradox

We think the next ten years are going to be anti-billionaire.
Pepper Culpepper
Pepper Culpepper joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss when populism can strengthen democracy. Drawing on his Journal of Democracy article “When Populism Can Be Good” and his book with Taeku Lee, Billionaire Backlash, Culpepper argues that corporate scandals can channel public anger toward billionaires and large corporations in ways that reinforce democratic accountability. The conversation explores good and bad populism, economic unfairness, AI, regulation, and whether democratic governments can still stand up to concentrated corporate power.
The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 
Read the full transcript here.
Key Highlights
Introduction - 0:20
Good Populism - 3:05
Latent Opinion - 12:33
The Next Progressive Era - 20:42
Regulation vs. Abundance - 35:48
Links
Learn more about Pepper Culpepper.
Learn more about his Journal of Democracy article “When Populism Can Be Good.”
Learn more about his book Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How It Could Save Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2026).
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
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Email comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.com
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We think of World War II as this global democratizing event, but what it really did was strengthen left-wing authoritarianism.
Dan Slater
Dan Slater is the James Orin Murfin Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center of Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan. He is the coauthor (with Joseph Wong) of the book From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia. More recently, he authored the article "The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave" in the Journal of Democracy. 
The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 
Read the full transcript here.
Key Highlights
Introduction - 0:20
Why Scholars Stopped Taking Ideology Seriously - 3:02
The Difference Between Authoritarian Left and Right - 5:31
Why the Third Wave Narrative Gets the History Wrong - 20:45
Can Democracy Survive Ideological Extremes - 33:43
Links
Learn more about Dan Slater.
Read his article in the Journal of Democracy, "The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave."
Learn more about the Center for Emerging Democracies.
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Apes of the State created all Music
Email comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.com

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What happens when the violent state forged under autocracy survives into democracy?
Guillermo Trejo
In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, Kellogg faculty fellow Guillermo Trejo discusses his new book, Accountability Shock, coauthored with Lucía Tiscornia and Juan Albarracín. Trejo explains how authoritarian security forces can survive democratic transitions and fuel organized crime, and why truth commissions, prosecutions, and institutional reforms are essential tools for preventing violence and building more durable democracies.
The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 
Read the full transcript here.
Key Highlights
Introduction - 0:20
What Is the State? - 3:23
From Order to Crime - 9:12
The Accountability Shock - 19:10
Beyond Elections - 37:20
Links
Learn more about Guillermo Trejo.
Learn more about his book Accountability Shock: Why Transitional Justice Prevents Criminal Wars in New Democracies (Cambridge University Press, 2026)
Learn more about the Notre Dame Violence and Transitional Justice Lab.
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Apes of the State created all Music
Email comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.com

Support the show

The left pays a very steep price when they break with democratic norms and procedures.
Kenneth Roberts
Kenneth Roberts is the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University. He is the coauthor (with Santiago Anria) of Polarization and Democracy in Latin America: Legacies of the Left Turn.
The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 
Read the full transcript here.
Key Highlights
Introduction - 0:20
The Origins of the Left Turn - 3:21
Polarization and Its Discontents - 13:18
The Autocratic Temptation - 21:40
Populism and the Left's Democratic Reckoning - 37:24

Links
Learn more about Kenneth Roberts
Read his book Polarization and Democracy in Latin America: Legacies of the Left Turn
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Register for the 2026 Global Democracy Conference at the University of Notre Dame.
Apes of the State created all Music
Email comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.com
Support the show

If democracy wants to regain the upper hand, it has to not only do a better job than the other guys, but in fact, a good job.
Sheri Berman
This episode features a conversation with political scientist Sheri Berman on why today’s global "democratic recession" was actually predictable. Drawing from her deep historical research, Berman argues that every democratic wave eventually faces an "undertow," especially when the social and economic foundations of stability begin to fail. From the cautionary lessons of Weimar Germany to the modern rise of partisan "bubbles," this episode explores what we have forgotten about democratic stability and what it will take to secure its future.
 The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 
Read the full transcript here.
Key Highlights
Introduction - 0:20
What We Forgot About Democracy - 3:39
The Social Foundations of Democracy - 13:55
Inequality, Insecurity, and Policy - 28:16
Universities, Cruise Control, and the Purpose of Democracy - 40:55
Links
Learn more about Sheri Berman.
Read her article "Democracy's Troubles Should Be No Surprise" in the Journal of Democracy.
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Register for the 2026 Global Democracy Conference at the University of Notre Dame.
Apes of the State created all Music
Email comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.com
Support the show