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The World Needs America to Save Its Liberal Democracy
If this system of government dies in the land of its birth, it will have a hard time surviving elsewhere
 • Shikha Dalmia
LibCon2026 Kicks Off Tomorrow!
Are you ready for the most important convening of liberal thinkers and advocates from around the world?
The Iran War Might End Fossil Fuel Dependence
The world is poised to pivot to alternatives in a big way because its energy needs cannot be held hostage to the whims of a rogue president and a…
 • Tibita Kaneene
49:42
Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman
Presidentialism plus single-member districts is a bad combination that incentivizes leaders to consolidate power by fueling division.
 • Andy Craig
Trump Is Revving Up His Vote-Suppression Tactics: A Video Roundup
Our mid-July collection of clips

Recent posts

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No, We Do Not Need a ‘Good’ DOGE
Using extra constitutional, illiberal methods to restore liberalism would be self-defeating
 • John K. Glenn
The US Team’s Loss Hasn’t Shamed America in the World Cup, Trump’s Conduct Has
His brazen campaign to reinstate a player has elicited global disgust and rightly so
 • Berny Belvedere
Trump Politicizes the World Cup by Bullying FIFA Into Reinstating a US Player: An Executive Watch Roundup
Our early-July selection of the president’s latest and greatest assaults on the rule of law
 • Executive Watch
Keeping America a Republic—and the Greatest Country for Another 250 Years
Happy Fourth of July from The UnPopulist Staff
 • Shikha Dalmia, Berny Belvedere, and Andy Craig
Dear Americans: 'Alter' Your Government to Keep Your Republic for Another 250 Years
The Declaration assigned you that job—take it seriously
 • Andy Craig
There Is No Originalist Rationale for Denying Citizenship to the US Born
So the conservative dissenters on the Supreme Court ditched their own preferred approach in the recent birthright ruling
 • Paul Gowder
Liberal Societies Need Grand Stories About Themselves
An interesting new book by a former Economist writer says that would jolt individuals out of their ennui
 • Jonathan Rauch
31:42
The UnPopulist Live: Influential Legal Scholar Jed Shugerman Talks to Andy Craig About the Slaughter and Birthright Citizenship Rulings
Our June 30 conversation on the Supreme Court's rulings on presidential power and the 14th Amendment
 • Andy Craig and Jed Shugerman
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
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Shikha Dalmia
The World Needs America to Save Its Liberal Democracy
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Andy Craig
Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman
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Berny Belvedere
The US Team’s Loss Hasn’t Shamed America in the World Cup, Trump’s Conduct Has
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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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49:42
Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman
Presidentialism plus single-member districts is a bad combination that incentivizes leaders to consolidate power by fueling division.
 • Andy Craig
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

Podcasts

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49:42
Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman
Presidentialism plus single-member districts is a bad combination that incentivizes leaders to consolidate power by fueling division.
 • Andy Craig
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
Podcasts
Logo for Zooming In at The UnPopulist
Zooming In at The UnPopulist
The UnPopulist Live: Influential Legal Scholar Jed Shugerman Talks to Andy Craig About the Slaughter and Birthright Citizenship Rulings
Logo for Reconstruction Agenda
Reconstruction Agenda
Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman
Recommendations
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To the Contrary
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Charlie Sykes
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The Renovator
Danielle Allen
Top posts

Book Reviews

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Liberal Societies Need Grand Stories About Themselves
An interesting new book by a former Economist writer says that would jolt individuals out of their ennui
 • Jonathan Rauch
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

World

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The Iran War Might End Fossil Fuel Dependence
The world is poised to pivot to alternatives in a big way because its energy needs cannot be held hostage to the whims of a rogue president and a…
 • Tibita Kaneene
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
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