California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu, humanitarian Jane Olson and author Daniel Ziblatt '95 will speak at Commencement on May 17.
https://www.pomona.edu/news/2026/02/24-leaders-law-human-rights-and-study-democracy-speak-pomona-college-commencement
Sallust, 40 bc
„Extremism never triumphs on its own. It only does so because others enable it – out of ambition, fear, or because they misjudge the dangers of making small concessions“ — Prof. @dziblatt.bsky.social (@europeatharvard.bsky.social)
Source: @spiegel.de share.google/3o5W5Ub6pAFW...
Thrilled to announce the great group of visiting scholars for Spring 2026 at the Center for European Studies. Some are here all year and 11 new fellows for the spring semester. Here they are :
ces.fas.harvard.edu/visiting-sch...
Levitsky and Ziblatt remind us that political systems are designed to solve problems, not exacerbate them. Yet in some democracies today, winner-take-all systems are empowering authoritarian minorities and undermining democratic legitimacy.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
Wall Street Journal confirms...
Portuguese presidential election yields 2nd round between center left Seguro & far right Ventura.
Honestly shocking that the main center right party (PSD) fails to endorse Seguro. They would benefit from reading @dziblatt.bsky.social’s historical work on the topic www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
We now have a full-blown European-American crisis, and for no reason that the president is able to articulate
South Korea sentences former leader Yoon to five years in prison ft.trib.al/i9XbjHD
Here's a link to the #OpenAccess article by @valentimvicente.bsky.social,
@eliasdinas.bsky.social & @dziblatt.bsky.social -
cup.org/4pIYRvH
Excellent essay . Also : Why we study comparative politics
An impulsive leader unconstrained by domestic institutions leading to foreign policy adventurism. Has echoes
open.substack.com/pub/ziblatt4...
I guess I see what's happening now as a kind of logical outgrowth. Acting out in unconstrained ways.
Some reflections from me on January 6 in comparative and historical perspective (first time on substack)
open.substack.com/pub/ziblatt4...
Some reflections from me on January 6 in comparative and historical perspective (first time on substack)
open.substack.com/pub/ziblatt4...
What happens when democracy dies in a global hegemon?
If you want to see what innovation in political communication looks like, this is it:
youtu.be/xj89tYvwr6k?...
What the data revealed about American democracy in 2025. And a path forward for 2026.
Theda Skocpol :
"I would call it a corrupt patrimonial regime. There’s a book by a couple of political scientists [The Assault on the State (Hanson & Kopstein, 2024)] that I find even more convincing than the analyses of some of my historical-institutional allies"
@jeffkopstein.bsky.social
These east German numbers on afd support are remarkable. A complete failure of grass roots mobilization of CDU, SPD etc. Utter failure.