Speaker: Steven Teles, Johns Hopkins University
Abstract: A number of scholars have recently called attention to the problem of "minority rule," not just in the United States but throughout the world. They have argued that populist parties are increasingly using institutional hardball and threats of violence to compensate for their demographically driven slide in electoral support. I argue that while this definitely picks up on a real trend in politics, "minority rule" has also been a long-term feature of politics on the center-left as well. In fact, as I will argue, the study of public policy process has argued that American politics in particular is pervasively subject to minority rule. I will conclude by claiming that those who care about democracy need to be as attuned to the minority rule problem on the left as the more visible one on the right.
Please contact James Stillwell if you are interested in joining a lunch discussion after the conclusion of the talk with the guest speaker.
Research Seminar Series attendance is open to all interested faculty, staff and students.