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Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
In fact, voters handed a mandate to the man who lost territory
 • Alexander Kaffka
Trump Phone—Made In Everywhere But America: A Video Roundup
Our late-June collection of clips
The Unfortunate Necessity of Court Packing to Stop America’s Authoritarian Drift
A proposal to add justices without opening a cycle of mutually assured destruction
 • Andy Craig
How the Internet Became a Tool for Domination and Control Instead of Liberation
Replacing human gatekeepers with algorithms backfired but fixes are possible
 • Mike Masnick
Mindless Middleness Was Keir Starmer’s Undoing
The UK prime minister was forced out because he failed to offer his own vision and played on the right’s turf
 • Berny Belvedere

Recent posts

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58:01
Trump Has Not Turned Americans Against Immigrants: A Conversation with Greg Sargent
The administration’s cruelty has deeply disturbed the country, opening the door for reforms with more legal pathways
 • Shikha Dalmia
Dear Leader Trump Wants Americans to Celebrate Him, Not Their Country, on Its 250th Anniversary: An Executive Watch Roundup
Our late-June selection of the president's latest and greatest assaults on the rule of law
 • Executive Watch
Pete Hegseth Echoes a Fascist Novel to Commemorate D-Day
To honor the sacrifice of American soldiers, he wants European countries to give up on multiracial democracy and treat asylum seekers as invaders
 • Chris Edelson
Democrats Need to Lead the Second Reconstruction
Trump's authoritarian assault has decimated our institutions that 'kitchen table' issues won't fix
 • Andy Craig and Shikha Dalmia
Does Immigration Lead to ‘Democratic Drain’ and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
A fascinating book by a political scientist says yes—but, in fact, there is strong evidence for the opposite case, too
 • Stan Veuger
The Administration's Conduct During the World Cup: Inhospitable and UnAmerican—A Video Roundup
Our mid-June collection of clips
48:43
The Trump Administration's Anti-Foreigner Animus Is a Betrayal of the World Cup—the Most Cosmopolitan Sport on Earth
Its visa and deportation policies have cast a pall on the game, but fans are finding ways to watch and celebrate despite the fear
 • Berny Belvedere
Hindu Supremacists ❤️ Laura Loomer Despite Her Racist Anti-Indian Tirades Because She Hates Muslims
Islamophobia is forging a troubling new geopolitical alliance between the Indian, Israeli, and American far right
 • Debasish Roy Chowdhury
LibCon2026: The Reconstruction Coalition
We are catalyzing a new political alignment, bringing together widely divergent liberals determined to defeat authoritarianism—come join us!
 • Shikha Dalmia
The Historian Who Explained the True Meaning of the Revolution to Americans
Gordon Wood understood the genius of our founding better than the Founders themselves. Rest in Peace, sir.
 • Andy Craig
How the Libertarian Movement Missed the Authoritarian Moment
Shikha Dalmia's conversation with the Illiberalism Studies Program
 • Marlene Laruelle
The Administration Attempts to Erase Memory of Jan. 6 by Purging Thousands of Pages from Government Website: An Executive Watch Roundup
Our early-June selection of the president's latest and greatest assaults on the rule of law
 • Executive Watch
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Andy Craig
The Unfortunate Necessity of Court Packing to Stop America’s Authoritarian Drift
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Berny Belvedere
Mindless Middleness Was Keir Starmer’s Undoing
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Shikha Dalmia
Trump Has Not Turned Americans Against Immigrants: A Conversation with Greg Sargent
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Landry Ayres
The Revolution Is Dead, God Save King Trump: A Video Roundup
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Birch Smith
Has the Trump Administration Crossed the Rubicon When Lawlessness Makes Lawful Transition Impossible?
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The UnPopulist Presents:

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Defending liberal democracy against authoritarianism in the U.S. and around the world.

Reconstruction Agenda

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29:16
A Bloated Executive and a Starved Congress Is a Bad Combination: A Conversation with Kevin Kosar
It distorts our scheme of checks and balances and undermines our ability to self-govern
 • Andy Craig
31:56
Americans Have Never Had Less Recourse for the US Government Violating Rights: A Conversation With Steve Vladeck
Accountability under both state and federal law faces high hurdles, but Congress could fix that
 • Andy Craig
Robust State Constitutionalism Can Protect Rights and Resist Authoritarianism
We need a movement to fully unlock the potential for resistance by states
 • Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot
Americans Need Legal Remedies Restored Now to Protect Themselves Against Reckless ICE Agents
Congress, state legislatures, and courts can take steps to reopen avenues for litigation unduly closed off
 • Anya A. Bidwell and Marie Miller
All-Party Primaries Can Release Us From Our Partisan Doom-Loop Trap
Our republic is being destroyed by an electoral system that ignores the vast majority of the voting public
 • Danielle Allen
Trump’s Bogus Rationale for Invading Venezuela Is an Impeachable Offense
The Framers would have regarded this president as an out-of-control lunatic in desperate need of reining in by Congress
 • Andy Craig
50:39
What Tools Does Congress Still Retain to Control a Recalcitrant Executive? A Conversation with Josh Chafetz
Eventually, though, Congress needs to fix itself to effectively rein in the president
 • Andy Craig
If Soldiers Become Cops, Americans Will Have Even Less Legal Redress Against Abusive Law Enforcement
This is yet another reason why President Trump should not be allowed to call in the military for fighting crime
 • Anthony Sanders

Podcasts

View all
58:01
Trump Has Not Turned Americans Against Immigrants: A Conversation with Greg Sargent
The administration’s cruelty has deeply disturbed the country, opening the door for reforms with more legal pathways
 • Shikha Dalmia
48:43
The Trump Administration's Anti-Foreigner Animus Is a Betrayal of the World Cup—the Most Cosmopolitan Sport on Earth
Its visa and deportation policies have cast a pall on the game, but fans are finding ways to watch and celebrate despite the fear
 • Berny Belvedere
49:07
The Disarray of Protestant Churches Is Bad News for American Liberal Democracy: A Conversation with Raymond R. Roberts
It has led to MAGA idolatry on the one hand and shallow do-goodism on the other
 • Berny Belvedere
29:16
A Bloated Executive and a Starved Congress Is a Bad Combination: A Conversation with Kevin Kosar
It distorts our scheme of checks and balances and undermines our ability to self-govern
 • Andy Craig
1:02:47
Where Will the GOP—and Where Should Democrats—Go After Trump: A Conversation with Jamelle Bouie
The New York Times columnist offers his thoughts on the great MAGA crackup and the rightward shift of centrist Democrats
 • Shikha Dalmia
50:30
Trump Proved to be Unimaginably Bad for the Free Market Cause: A Conversation with Veronique de Rugy
Watch now (51 mins) | He has done things that Bernie Sanders would never have dared and opened the door to radical leftist interventions
 • Shikha Dalmia
Podcasts
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Zooming In at The UnPopulist
Trump Has Not Turned Americans Against Immigrants: A Conversation with Greg Sargent
Logo for Reconstruction Agenda
Reconstruction Agenda
A Bloated Executive and a Starved Congress Is a Bad Combination: A Conversation with Kevin Kosar
Recommendations
View all 23
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
If you can keep it
If you can keep it
Protect Democracy
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll
Jeremiah Johnson
The Renovator
The Renovator
Danielle Allen
User's avatar
Can We Still Govern?
Don Moynihan
Top posts

Book Reviews

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Does Immigration Lead to ‘Democratic Drain’ and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
A fascinating book by a political scientist says yes—but, in fact, there is strong evidence for the opposite case, too
 • Stan Veuger
Universities' Best Defense Against Censorship in the Public Square Is Free Inquiry
In their otherwise valuable new book, two prominent professors acknowledge the need for diverse viewpoints on campuses but don't offer a cure for…
 • Jonathan Marks
How the Chinese Immigrant Experience Shaped Birthright Citizenship
Reviving this history is vital to understanding the 14th Amendment's true intention
 • J. L. Wall
The Constitution's Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles' Heel for Checking an Imperial President
Worse, there are no good fixes in our polarized times for stopping the abuse of this dangerous tool
 • Gabriel Schoenfeld
Dear Liberals: Don’t Forget to Brag About Liberalism
Critical self-appraisals are fine so long as they don’t validate bad-faith attacks on the liberal order
 • Jonathan Rauch
Let’s Not Grant the Postliberal Critique of Market Liberalism
Discontents with liberal modernity are perennial and a spiritual awakening won't cure them
 • Jonathan Rauch

World

View all
Armenia Rejects Populism and Chooses Democracy Despite a Devastating Military Defeat
In fact, voters handed a mandate to the man who lost territory
 • Alexander Kaffka
Mindless Middleness Was Keir Starmer’s Undoing
The UK prime minister was forced out because he failed to offer his own vision and played on the right’s turf
 • Berny Belvedere
Does Immigration Lead to ‘Democratic Drain’ and Illiberalism in Native Countries?
A fascinating book by a political scientist says yes—but, in fact, there is strong evidence for the opposite case, too
 • Stan Veuger
Hindu Supremacists ❤️ Laura Loomer Despite Her Racist Anti-Indian Tirades Because She Hates Muslims
Islamophobia is forging a troubling new geopolitical alliance between the Indian, Israeli, and American far right
 • Debasish Roy Chowdhury
Iranians Had a Better Shot of Toppling Their Monstrous Regime Before the War
The country's rulers have become more entrenched and brutal, turning the glimmer of hope during the protests into fear and despair
 • Pouya Nikmand
Political Islam Is Rank Populism That Perverts a Fundamentally Liberal Faith
The Western right’s smearing of the entire religion and the left’s romanticization of it are both misguided
 • Mohammed Nosseir
Hungary’s Opposition Used Social Media to Topple the Authoritarian-in-Chief
Politically neutral platforms are a better way than censorship to fight propaganda and disinformation
 • Jacob Mchangama
Orbán Lost Spectacularly Because the Hungarian People Simply Stopped Fearing His Authoritarianism
They understood that his corrupt party was selling out the country to serve its own interests
 • Laszlo Gendler
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