"I had only one reaction to the panelists and their cheerleaders: these gutless losers will never win. If they have their way, we will, at best, remain in this crisis for a generation longer, and at worst we will simply lose the war." www.liberalcurrents.com/tit-for-tat-...

We need Broken Windows theory but just for white collar crime.

Thanks to @cbwlezien.bsky.social for writing this comprehensive, balanced, well-organized survey of contemporary research on policy responsiveness, and to Josh Ryan for inviting me to write a response, which you can find here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...

Apparently I got tenure three weeks ago, but nobody bothered to tell me until today. Anyway, the point is: I have tenure! I am keenly aware of what a rare privilege that is these days. I'll do my best to use it well.

Calling all early career scholars with an interest in democratic theory, public policy, corruption, etc...! Initial deadline this week, for aspirational start date this Fall, but both are flexible given the tight turnaround.

Come work on an exciting new project with me -- soft deadline next Friday!

Of interest to folks in #poltheory and adjacent scholarly communities, especially #LPE (👀@lpeproject.bsky.social, @lpeblog.bsky.social, @a-lpe.bsky.social). Tight turnaround for due date and start date but those are aspirational: late applications will likely be read and start date is negotiable!

🚨Job Posting🚨 I've received funding for a project on "Rethinking the Anti-Corruption Toolkit" and am hiring a 2-year postdoc (political theory or related) to help. Ideally starting this fall, but can be flexible. For best consideration apply by the end of next week! apply.interfolio.com/188955

@samuel-bagg.bsky.social is aiming to hire a postdoc to work on an anti-corruption project we've collaborated on. The position is through Yale but would involve relocating to South Carolina. It's for two years & includes no teaching. There's a soft deadline July 10th: apply.interfolio.com/188955

Very cool post-doc opportunity to work with @samuel-bagg.bsky.social on anti-corruption institutional design. Tight deadline! @lpeproject.bsky.social @lpeblog.bsky.social #lawsky apply.interfolio.com/188955

i think boarding school teenage masculinity is a part of masculinity but not of manhood. we have to get away from the concept of the opposite of "man" being "woman." the opposite of "man" is "boy"

Don’t miss EB presenting this incredible film she helped to create! (As one of two editors on a very small four-person team)

KF Research Fellow @devawo.bsky.social cites data from the Kettering-Gallup #DemocracyForAll Project and explores how third spaces may be one path toward strengthening democracy.

really cannot be emphasized enough that every democratic policy goal must run through breaking the power of this corrupt court

This was extremely satisfying

Fascism is distinctively modern because it presupposes that traditionalist society is unavailable. It begins from a diagnosis of society as already fragmented by the forces of modernity & posits a post-traditionalist basis of organic unity in new fictions of the state, leader, race.

Anyone concerned about the rich buying campaigns, who is not paying attention to the far-right media takeover, needs to get their brains out of their ass. What people see BETWEEN the campaign ads has more impact than the campaign ads.

Politics 101: Vote against your opposition, not the people your opposition reviles. You cannot beat your opposition by promoting their views.

Incredibly, arguing that your opponent is right makes people support your opponent.

I’ve been invited to testify on what the House calls “Court Packing: A Threat to SCOTUS’s Legitimacy.” Drawing on research w/ Daphna Renan for our book, Supremacy, Congress has the duty—and all the tools it needs—to protect our Constitution from judicial supremacy. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

yes. change the statute on which this decision turned and redistrict according to the legitimacy conferred by the people of the state

Utterly unserious, in fact dangerous, way to cover the outright unraveling of democracy

now thats an anecdote with a punch, from Gillian Tett www.ft.com/content/c0ae...

Update: the number of people confusing "Toussaint L'Ouverture" and "Alexis de Tocqueville" on this exam is... astounding. (It is an open-book exam, and a full list of authors / texts was also included on the back of the exam sheet)

Sad to think those of you who don't grade un-spellchecked final exams might never encounter Linen's defense of a revolutionary vanguard; Hannah Ardent on the blaneity of evil; fellow girlboss Aimee Cesaire in her analysis of the boomergang effect...

France’s mandated profit-sharing distributes excess profits to workers. This paper shows that the policy raises the labor share and reduces the profit share, with little to no effect on investment, productivity, etc academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...

If you like arguments about why (and how) liberals should take wealth inequality seriously, drawing on Acemoglu and Robinson, Buchanan, Lindsey and Teles, Smith, etc..., boy have I got a book (chapter) for you... academic.oup.com/book/55806/c...

New podcast with postdoc alum @samuel-bagg.bsky.social Samuel Bagg, now Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina: "State Capture and the Meaning of Democracy" on the "Virtual Sentiments" podcast with Kristen Collins www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram...

As Socrates said, "All my haters become my waiters when I sit down at the table of success."

The reviews are in for my experiment using a printed course pack this semester. The students absolutely LOVED them.

Economics can either enable the slide toward fascism, or defend affordability, dignity, and democracy. I wrote ANTI-FASCIST ECONOMICS with my baby by my side—a constant reminder that the future should be livable for all. Out in October with Random House.

Trump is within sight of an under 30% overall approval rating. One of the most important causes right now is to establish a media narrative and popular support behind severe punishments and consequences to our present criminals running things.

The amount of inequality created by capitalism depends on how we structure it cepr.net/publications...

As wealth concentrates, so does power — the power to influence elections, shape policy, tilt markets and define the terms of public debate. Taxing billionaires is not radical. What is radical is allowing a system where extreme wealth exists alongside widespread hardship.

Grift, grift, and a bit more grift. How can any voter tolerate this?

Today’s latest Virtual Sentiments episode is with @samuel-bagg.bsky.social on his excellent book on how democracy helps us fight state capture. I’ve posted the episode and some updated thoughts talking about the DOW vs Anthropic contract dispute at my Substack open.substack.com/pub/kristenc...

Thrilled to release this conversation with Sam on his excellent book, Dispersion of Power, on using democracy to guard against state capture. A topic that has only become even more pertinent since we recorded it and is not going away any time soon!

Grateful to @kristenrosec.bsky.social for a really stimulating conversation on the "Virtual Sentiments" podcast about the past, present, and future of state capture and democracy. www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram...

The Department of Political Science just got a whole lot better! We are so thrilled to have these wonderful people on board for the coming academic year. 👏 #uofsc #polisci

🧵 Democracy feels like it's in a rough state at the moment across the globe, and we hear various explanations, like polarisation, extremism, disinformation, and loss of trust. But what if those explanations are mainly symptoms and we've been trying to treat them rather than the underlying causes?

The New York Times rolling up its sleeves to do the hard work of normalizing the idea that women should not have the right to vote.

capital, for some reason: maybe we'll provide housing for some of the unhoused people in your neighborhood? Democratic elected officials:

New book coedited by former RGCS postdoc Samuel Bagg @samuel-bagg.bsky.social now Assistant Professor of Political Science at U of South Carolina: Democracy and Competition: Rethinking the Forms, Purposes, and Values of Competition in Democracy www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....

Another university getting rid of things you could only ever do at a university and replacing them with stuff a 13-year-old can do on a phone

Thanks to @lpeblog.bsky.social for highlighting my blog post with @shaiagmon.bsky.social in their weekly roundup! The post draws from our chapter in a new book on Democracy and Competition, which I co-edited with @alfredmoore.bsky.social: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....

Joseph Schumpeter is remembered as the paradigmatic theorist of minimalist democracy. But in her chapter for the volume, Natasha Piano challenges this standard reading at its core.

Democracies today face a paradox: competition feels both too intense and too weak. Polarization is rising at the same moment oligarchs strengthen their hold over the entire political system. How can both be true? That's the question @alfredmoore.bsky.social and I ask in the intro to our volume.

"Democrats are no longer framing their tax increases on the wealthy solely as measures to fund programs. They are arguing that America’s super-wealthy simply have too much money and taking some of that away is a public good on its own." newrepublic.com/article/2078...