Democracy Paradox

You can take a cognitive bias so far down the road that you can live in an objectively very clear dictatorship and sit there and say, 'I live in a democracy.'
Natalie Wenzell Letsa
In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, host Justin Kempf speaks with political scientist Natalie Wenzell Letsa about why some voters genuinely support ruling parties in electoral autocracies. Drawing on her book The Autocratic Voter and fieldwork in Cameroon, Letsa explains how partisan identities form under dictatorship and what these dynamics reveal about democracy, polarization, and political behavior more broadly.
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 an Electoral Autocracy - 3:20
Voters in an Autocracy - 12:55
Opposition in an Autocracy - 21:04
Parallels to Democracies - 30:31
Links
Learn more about Natalie Wenzell Letsa.
Learn more about her book The Autocratic Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization Under Dictatorship.
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Support the show

The heart of ungoverning is going after expertise - eradicating expertise - and replacing it with the power of the great ruler.
Russ Muirhead
Russell Muirhead is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics and the co-director of the Political Economy Project at Dartmouth University. He's also the co-author, with Nancy Rosenblum, of Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos. 
Patrick McQuestion joins to help introduce the episode. Patrick is a  PhD student in his fourth year at the University of Notre Dame studying political science and peace studies, and also the co-host of the Global Stage Podcast. 
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 Ungoverning? 9:00
The Fourth Branch - 32:29
Other Examples of Ungoverning 36:28
Ungoverning and Democracy - 46:59
Links:
Learn more about Russell Muirhead
Learn more about his book Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos
Learn more about Patrick McQuestion
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Support the show

Decreasing incumbent capacity and affective polarization are making incumbency salient, but also more of a curse than a blessing.
Luis Schiumerini
In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, host Justin Kempf speaks with Notre Dame political scientist Luis Schiumerini about his new book Incumbency Bias: Why Political Office is a Blessing and a Curse in Latin America. Schiumerini challenges common assumptions about incumbents, demonstrating that holding office can create systematic advantages – or disadvantages – depending on the institutional context. Before the conversation begins, Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate Tomás Gianibelli joins Kempf to share his experience working with Schiumerini and to explain why this research reshapes how scholars think about 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
What is Incumbency Bias - 6:06
Incumbency Disadvantage on the Rise - 23:58
Term Limits - 31:39
Implications for Democracy - 36:52
Links:
Learn more about Luis Schiumerini
Learn more about his book Incumbency Bias: Why Political Office is a Blessing and a Curse in Latin America
Learn more about Tomás Gianibelli
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Support the show

The biggest disappointment is that democracies do not reduce social and economic inequality.
Adam Przeworski
In this episode, host Justin Kempf talks with political scientist Adam Przeworski about what truly defines democracy today. Przeworski explains why he sees no global democratic crisis, defends a minimalist view centered on free and fair elections, and reflects on why democracies struggle to reduce inequality. He also discusses why citizens sometimes tolerate democratic erosion and how modern autocracies maintain support, offering a clear and concise perspective on democracy’s strengths and limits. Alejandro González Ruiz, cohost of the Kellogg Institute's Global Stage podcast, joins to help introduce the episode.
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
Minimal Democracy and Democratic Crisis - 9:44
Economic Inequality and Democracy - 22:37
Autocracy and Popular Support - 31:42
Democratic Backsliding - 36:09
Links
Learn more about Adam Przeworski.
Learn more about his book Crises of Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2019).
Learn more about Alejandro González Ruiz.
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Apes of the State created all Music
Support the show

For democratic revolutions to survive counterrevolution, they have to make certain choices that can undermine the quality of their democracy.
Killian Clarke
Political scientist Killian Clarke joins The Democracy Paradox to discuss his new book, Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed. He explains why democratic revolutions are especially vulnerable to reversal, how elites and citizens can align in counterrevolutionary movements, and what these dynamics reveal about democracy’s fragility and endurance today. Amanda Waterhouse, a postdoctoral democracy researcher at the Kellogg Institute also joins to help introduce the episode.
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
Counterrevolutions as Mass Movements - 9:59
Prevalence and Success of Counterrevolution - 19:08
Is Counterrevolution Always Bad? - 33:22
Why Some Revolutionaries Join the Counterrevolution - 41:12
Links
Learn more about Amanda Waterhouse.
Learn more about Killian Clarke.
Learn more about Clarke's book Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed (Cambridge University Press, 2025)
Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.
Apes of the State created all Music
Support the show