This week, we bring you an episode from the Democracy Paradox podcast. Jan-Werner Müller of Princeton University joins host Justin Kempf to discuss his new book, Democracy Rules.
Democracy and populism diverge at a single point. It’s like a fork in a road where both traditions depend on a common history, but they split in two. At first it may seem the choice doesn’t matter. You believe that eventually they will both lead to the same destination except they don’t. The choice leads to two different outcomes. Populism uses some of the same language of democracy. It has a similar vocabulary. But as we go farther down its path, the less in common they have with each other.
Jan-Werner Müller is among the most recognizable voices on the subject of populism and democracy. This conversation from the Democracy Paradox podcast touches on some of their most challenging aspects from political leadership to majority rule to militant democracy. This conversation explores some of the ideas at the heart of this podcast. Ideas that give definition to the very meaning of democracy.
Müller is a professor of politics at Princeton University and author of Democracy Rules and What is Populism?
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Jenna Spinelle is a writer and podcaster who tells stories that inspire hope and change in trying times. She hosts the podcasts Democracy Works When the People Decide, both productions of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. She is currently writing a book about the democracy reform movement and how more people can get involved in the work to strengthen American democracy. Spinelle teaches courses on news writing, podcasting, and content creators at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Her writing has appeared in outlets including Time magazine, Inside Higher Ed and Current, a trade publication covering public media.
We are part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.