In contrast to the claim that the most significant fault line in contemporary global affairs is between the civilisation of the West and all others, this essay argues that the schism between those who advance their values through violence and those who rely on persuasion, both of which are present in all civilisations, is the greatest source of conflict in the post-Cold-War era. Moderates come ...

The preferred Western model for science governance has come to involve attending to the perspectives of the public. In practice, however, this model has been criticised for failing to promote democracy along participatory lines. We argue that contemporary approaches to science policy making demonstrate less the failure of democracy and more the success of liberal modes of government in adapting...

Gopal balakrishnan is one of the foremost experts in the Anglo-American world on the life and work of Carl Schmitt, and I am grateful for his response in nlr 68, ‘The Geopolitics of Separation’, to my essay on the thinker, ‘Decisions and Indecisions’, in nlr 67. Balakrishnan’s intellectual biography of Schmitt, The Enemy, remains, according to one eminent voice in the field, ‘the best English-l...

Liberal scholars in the international relations discipline argue that peace among nations would be the consequence of three complementary influences. First, republican constitutions eliminate autocratic caprice in waging war. Second, “an understanding of the legitimate rights of all citizens and of all republics comes into play” with the spread of democracy. This creates a moral foundation for ...

Estonia is the only country in the world where all voters can vote online in national elections. In the 2015 election, 31% of voters did so. This paper discusses the sociology and politics of online voting in Estonia. I first show that online voting is a partisan project. Liberal, conservative, and social democratic parties support online voting as a way of modernizing the electoral system, whi...

James Madison College is a residential college of public affairs and liberal education at Michigan State University, offering sophisticated multidisciplinary programs in the social sciences founded on a model of liberal education. The college prepares students for law school, graduate study, decision-making roles in public and private enterprise, and careers in government, media, politics, soci...

In the development of public systems of education, the intention was that everyone should have access to schooling; however, the democratic idea did not extend to giving everyone the opportunity of becoming familiar with the main forms of understanding that make up the critical, reflective level of culture and illuminate the key social institutions. Schooling in this sense which belongs to the ...