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Americans May Be Turning Against Representative Democracy Along With Commitment to Democratic Values
Two major surveys suggest a heightened risk of ‘backsliding’ away from America’s historic checks on autocratic power
 • 
Thomas Shull
9
Can India’s Liberal Democracy Recover After a Third Modi Term?
The Hindu nationalist prime minister has attacked minorities and institutions yet is poised for victory in the national elections
 • 
Raghu Karnad
2
37:57
The False Economic Promise of Populism: A Conversation with Rachel Kleinfeld
Populists rely on big promises and false premises to sell their methods to citizens—the outcome is rarely a happy ending
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
1
What’s the Real Threat to Campus Free Speech?
It isn’t "woke" faculty or students—it’s the administrative state's expansion of Title IX
 • 
Francis Fukuyama
10
The Right’s Bogus Claims about Noncitizen Voting Fraud
Trump, Musk, and Vance’s baseless accusations undermine public confidence in American elections and are dangerous
 • 
Walter Olson
78
Most Popular
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The War on the Woke Trumps the Truth for Many Heterodox Thinkers
 • Radley Balko
108
Jordan Peterson: Putin's Useless Idiot
 • Tom G. Palmer
82
Does a George Floyd Quackumentary Deserve to be Treated Like Valid Journalism?
 • Shikha Dalmia
138
Moms for Liberty: Birchers in Heels
 • Robert Tracinski
24
How Are Some of the Right-Wing Groups Powering MAGA Doing? An Update
Moms for Liberty is sinking and the Bull Moose Project is soaring
 • 
Robert Tracinski
 and 
Jason Hart
11
Does Populism Mean the Death of an Adversarial Media? A Conversation with Matt Yglesias
The popular blogger discusses how technological and political changes are affecting this key liberal institution's ability to hold leaders accountable
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
 and 
Berny Belvedere
51:30
13
Javier Milei: An Illiberal Libertarian?
The Argentine president’s socially conservative populism might trump his free market economics
 • 
David Agren
20
The Faithless Are the More Reliable Liberals
Enlightenment rationalists who rejected revealed dogma in favor of scientific inquiry paved the way for open, tolerant societies
 • 
Robert Tracinski
47
The UnPopulist exists to defend liberal democracy against authoritarianism in the U.S. and around the world. If our editorial mission resonates with you, subscribe. It's free!

Liberalism & Religion

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The Faithless Are the More Reliable Liberals
Enlightenment rationalists who rejected revealed dogma in favor of scientific inquiry paved the way for open, tolerant societies
 • 
Robert Tracinski
47
Contrary to Western Understanding, Islam Is a Liberal Faith
No religion can be properly understood based on its most extreme proponents
 • 
Hassan Abbas
 and 
Zahra Hassan
32
An Illiberal Hinduism Is a Contradiction in Terms
Hindu fundamentalists are destroying everything that makes their faith unique and profound
 • 
Shashi Tharoor
19
Liberalism and Catholicism: Friends Not Foes
Both traditions are rooted in a belief in universal human dignity
 • 
James M. Patterson
10
Buddhism and Liberalism Are Mutually Reinforcing
The faith’s emphasis on accepting impermanence offers an ethical framework for a dynamic, open society
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
9
Liberal Individualism Has Deep Roots in Protestantism
Illiberalism cannot be reconciled with the core tenets of the faith
 • 
Rachel Ferguson
3
Liberal Ideals Can Strengthen, Not Weaken, Judaism
And the Jewish faith’s emphasis on mitzvah is an antidote to self-absorbed individualism
 • 
Elliott Malamet
1
Recommendations
View all 13
Dog Shirt Daily
Dog Shirt Daily
Benjamin Wittes
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
Arc Digital
Arc Digital
Arc Digital
Persuasion
Persuasion
Yascha Mounk
Slow Boring
Slow Boring
Matthew Yglesias
The Right Can't Love America Because it Hates Liberalism
That's why it is throwing in its lot with Putin and other authoritarians abroad
 • 
Cathy Young
38
Why Are the Finns So Damn "Happy"?
What Nordic liberalism can teach other countries about fostering a worry-free people
 • 
Landry Ayres
3
Biden vs. Trump Is the Rematch that America Wants
Voters deserve more blame than the system for this dismal contest
 • 
Andy Craig
48
The Right's Infatuation With Fascist Strongmen Is Nothing New
Jacob Heilbrunn's book excavates the authoritarian intellectual roots of Trump's MAGA movement
 • 
Steve Chapman
25
A Healthy Social Media Might Need Bottom-Up Moderation: A Conversation with Renée DiResta
How can we build online communities that both respect freedom of speech and promote positive dialogue?
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
4
Does a George Floyd Quackumentary Deserve to be Treated Like Valid Journalism?
The Fifth Column tries to rewrite its credulous take on The Fall of Minneapolis by going on the offensive
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
138
How Putin Turned Himself Into Russia's New Czar
He just won a fifth term in a land-slide through sham elections against handpicked opponents
 • 
Anders Aslund
24
Prime Minister Modi Is Disarming the Opposition Ahead of India's National Elections
His efforts to defund, censor, and harass his critics has created an uneven playing field
 • 
Kian Vesteinsson
10
The War on the Woke Trumps the Truth for Many Heterodox Thinkers
Their flagship publication, The Free Press’, failure to correct an error-filled defense of George Floyd’s killer demonstrates that they are just another…
 • 
Radley Balko
108
46:46
NATO: Foreign Entanglement or Effective Alliance? Berny Belvedere and Shikha Dalmia Debate
The UnPopulist editors assess whether this Cold War alliance is still helping buttress liberal democracy
 • 
Berny Belvedere
 and 
Shikha Dalmia
4
The Proposed Toxic Marriage Between RFK Jr. and the Libertarian Party Could Hurt Trump
Kennedy now has more in common with MAGA populists than the left
 • 
Andy Craig
17
Why Do We Need to Fight Populism?
It's the road to authoritarianism
 • 
Nils Karlson
25

Podcast

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37:57
The False Economic Promise of Populism: A Conversation with Rachel Kleinfeld
Populists rely on big promises and false premises to sell their methods to citizens—the outcome is rarely a happy ending
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
1
51:30
Does Populism Mean the Death of an Adversarial Media? A Conversation with Matt Yglesias
The popular blogger discusses how technological and political changes are affecting this key liberal institution's ability to hold leaders accountable
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
 and 
Berny Belvedere
13
A Healthy Social Media Might Need Bottom-Up Moderation: A Conversation with Renée DiResta
How can we build online communities that both respect freedom of speech and promote positive dialogue?
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
4
46:46
NATO: Foreign Entanglement or Effective Alliance? Berny Belvedere and Shikha Dalmia Debate
The UnPopulist editors assess whether this Cold War alliance is still helping buttress liberal democracy
 • 
Berny Belvedere
 and 
Shikha Dalmia
4
Gaming the Scenarios for Political Violence: A Conversation with Patrick Eddington
Donald Trump could provoke local warfare in mixed red and blue communities
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
28
43:00
Should the Supreme Court Rule Against Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? A Debate
The Washington Post's Jason Willick and The UnPopulist's Andy Craig discuss if Trump deserves to be convicted for insurrection before being denied…
 • 
Berny Belvedere
, 
Andy Craig
, and 
Jason Willick
13
54:52
What Do Efforts to Bar Trump From the Ballot Accomplish? A Conversation with Andy Craig
The UnPopulist editors discuss the dangers of not using Section 3 to disqualify Trump
 • 
Landry Ayres
, 
Shikha Dalmia
, 
Berny Belvedere
, and 
Andy Craig
18
51:42
The Demand Side of Populism in America: A Conversation with Tom Shull
The UnPopulist survey found that Trump supporters dislike the elites who let immigrants in more than immigrants themselves
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
1
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