NYU Law Democracy Project

"...pronouncements with universal binding effect...Those who believe in democracy should support a role for democratic institutions in interpreting our fundamental charter of government, rather than relegating them to passive receptacles of the Supreme Court’s diktats."

Mitchell: "supporters of democratic governance should also be willing to challenge the imperious attitudes of the Supreme Court. For too long, the political branches have responded with passivity and acquiescence in response to the Court’s self-proclaimed authority to render constitutional..."

Judicial Supremacy and American Democracy A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 Idea #26 — Jonathan F. Mitchell, former Texas Solicitor General — “Judicial Supremacy and American Democracy”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project "100 Ideas in 100 Days" series

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/judici...

"...partisan and ideological symmetry: they should favor constitutional understandings that equally protect interests on opposite sides of key divides." - Zachary Price

"Americans’ political divisions have infected constitutional law, threatening to produce entirely partisan understandings of the Constitution...courts need to resist this tendency. Rather than constitutionalizing one set of political preferences, courts should strive, when possible, for..."

Depoliticizing Constitutional Law A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 Idea #25 — Zachary Price, Professor of Law @uclawsf.bsky.social — “Depoliticizing Constitutional Law”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project: 100 Ideas in 100 Days

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/depoli...

"...in adopting a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the number of Supreme Court justices at nine."

"...it would empower transient majorities in Congress to whipsaw the country between sweeping conservative and liberal agendas. Now is the time to eliminate the temptation. Progressives should join with conservatives..."

"[Packing the Court] would undermine the legitimacy of an institution essential to the rule of law. It would initiate a series of expansions that would destroy the capacity of the Court to operate as a deliberative judicial body. And, because it couldn’t happen without eviscerating the Senate’s..."

Enshrine Nine A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 Idea #24 — New by Ed Whelan of EPPC — “Enshrine Nine”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project: "100 Ideas in 100 Days"

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/enshri...

"...virtues so central to the Founders’ vision of what would make democracy work in America—and they require practice...[O]ur democracy would be strengthened if we could extend the benefits of this kind of participatory structure to other areas of our legal and regulatory systems." -David F. Levi

"The citizen participants were not just making suggestions; they were assuming many of the attributes of decision makers...all participants were advocating, compromising, and collaborating on behalf of what they saw as the public interest. These are the essential skills of democracy—the civic..."

Participatory Democracy in Action A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 Idea #23 — David F. Levi @dukelaw.bsky.social — “Participatory Democracy in Action”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project: 100 Ideas in 100 Days

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/partic...

"...The fact that they cannot be jailed, deported, or tortured vests organizations with greater responsibility to take risks on behalf of everyone who has a stake in preserving the liberal order. When these institutions bowl over, democracy loses."

Isiksel: "Authoritarianism succeeds by making dissent costly. When the authoritarian gale sends citizens running for cover, civil society organizations must anchor democratic principles..."

Civil Society Institutions Under Authoritarian Encroachment A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 Idea #22 — Turkuler Isiksel — Professor of Political Science @columbiauniversity.bsky.social

“Civil Society Institutions Under Authoritarian Encroachment”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project "100 Ideas in 100 Days" series

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/civil-...

Autocrats have joined forces and are deploying common tactics to consolidate power. Why shouldn't democracy advocates learn across borders too?

Read the Lab's latest @democracyproject.bsky.social on why transnational learning is essential to restoring democracy democracyproject.org/posts/transn...

"Cross-sectoral civil society coalitions in Brazil and Poland, for example, proved crucial in resisting authoritarian advances...[C]ivil societies...would do well to reach across national boundaries to learn from each other & develop practical tools for defending democracy & the rule of law." -Singh

"As autocrats join forces & embolden one another, they are depriving millions of people around the world of their freedoms. At the same time, the common experience of people across national boundaries presents opportunities for learning how to restore democracy including through collective action."

Transnational Tyranny A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣#21 — New from Amrit Singh @nyulaw.bsky.social — “Transnational Tyranny”

Part of the Democracy Project @nyulaw.bsky.social "100 Ideas in 100 Days" series

👉 Read the full essay here:
democracyproject.org/posts/transn...

"...increasingly draw the more vulnerable sectors of the society and Democrats the wealthier and more educated. The formal parties themselves have yielded power to charismatic individuals and well-heeled outside political players. As a result, how democracy works is being fundamentally altered."

"...That period of party-driven politics now seems to be over. Trade unions have dried up, church attendance is down, & local business associations are a weak countermeasure to the dominant power of a few large corporations. In the US, the parties are swapping their historic bases as Republicans..."

Issacharoff: "Democracy requires a long-time horizon. The winners of today must internalize that they might be voted out tomorrow, & the losers must believe the future might be rosier...The steadying institutions turned out to be political parties and the civic institutions that backed them..."

Democracy Without Stabilizers A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 #20 — New from Professor Sam Issacharoff
Founding Faculty Director @democracyproject.bsky.social —“Democracy Without Stabilizers”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project: 100 Ideas in 100 Days

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/democr...

Bombshell! - Caleb Nelson, one of the most respected originalist scholars in the country, comes out against the unitary executive interpretation of Article II democracyproject.org/posts/must-a...

"...while making their case to the broadest possible audience, in constant dialogue with those who disagree with them. An obstacle to success in this endeavor is denial or fudging of the complexities of difficult issues, the suggestion that there is one clear, good faith answer."

Bauer: "There is a notable incidence of influential conservative and progressive opinion on hard legal issues that somehow maps too neatly on the authors’ political preferences...The challenge for the community of legal commentators is to present strong, well-reasoned positions..."

The Challenge Facing the Legal Commentariat at the Present Time A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

🟣 #19 — New from Bob Bauer, Founding Faculty Director, @democracyproject.bsky.social

“The Challenge Facing the Legal Commentariat at the Present Time”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project: 100 Ideas in 100 Days

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/the-ch...

"...but perversely, also makes it that much harder for governments to respond effectively to citizens’ demands. And when democracies are unable to do so, alienation and anger can give way to worse (or perhaps already has), including yearnings for strongman leaders who promise they alone can deliver"