A Lesson in Democracy ... From Slime Moulds
A Lesson in Democracy…from Slime Moulds Originally published by The Crick Centre and republished by The Policy Space, 16 December 2015. [This short essay concerns the first type of life that I began investigating with the theory of non-human democracy which posits, in short, that democracy is not solely a human invention/discovery, that it does […]
Huron Socialism: A New Political System
Huron Socialism: A New Political System Originally published by AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 8(2), 2012, Pp. 115-127. [There was, aside from intellectual curiosity, a personal reason for writing this essay—my family has historic ties to one of the Huron clans that came to settle in Wendake, Québec, after they lost the “Beaver […]
Resist and Revivify. Democratic theory in a time of defiance
Resist and Revivify: Democratic Theory in a Time of Defiance Originally published by Democratic Theory, June 2017. Co-authored with Dr Emily Beausoleil. [I remember preparing the issue of Democratic Theory that this editorial prefaces during a very difficult time, politically. These were the early days of a shock Trump presidency, of a deeply confused Brexit […]
Gaddafi and Libya – a case for just intervention?
Gaddafi and Libya – a case for just intervention? Originally published by openDemocracy, April 1, 2011. [This short essay was borne out of an urge to “speak out of” the expression of international democracy that I saw happening in how many people, around the world, were relating to Libyans and vice versa during their moment […]
Safety in Numbers: strengthening resistance to anti-democratic challenges
VIDEO Safety in Numbers: Strengthening Resistance to Anti-Democratic Challenges democracy now with German subtitles! This short essay, originally published by the ECPR’s blog The Loop (https://theloop.ecpr.eu/safety-in-num…), was extended to consider its utopian directions. It was then presented at the Australian Utopias Network Seminar on Nov 2, 2020. See here for the YouTube link to the […]
Globalizing the Intellectual History of Democracy
Globalizing the Intellectual History of Democracy Originally published by Democratic Theory, 7(1), Summer 2020. Pp. 99-107. [The drive for this conversation, with Professor Samuel Moyn, came in most part out of a trend I had been observing in the democratic theory literature. There is a double dynamic at play, particularly over the last 15 or […]
Democratic Theory and Theoretical Physics
Democratic Theory and Theoretical Physics Originally published by the Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 6(2), 2010. Pp. 1-22. [This journal article was written in the end game of the doctoral thesis I was, at the time, writing whilst an intern at the International Labour Organization in Geneva and, later, at my doctoral alma mater the Queensland […]
Treasurer or Member for Lilley? Perhaps Wayne Swan doesn’t have to be both
Treasurer or Member for Lilley? Perhaps Wayne Swan doesn’t have to be both Originally published by The Conversation, May 8, 2012. [A short essay proposing an innovation for the Australian approach to representative democracy (although the point does extend to other, similar, political jurisdictions). Ministers are clearly busy with their portfolio(s) so how is it possible […]
An Intervention on ‘Democracy’ as a Term in Empirical Political Analysis
An Intervention on ‘Democracy’ as a Term in Empirical Political Analysis Originally published by Public Administration and Policy, 15(2), 2012, Pp. 68-92. [A Sartorian gripe, this was. I challenge anyone who has read both Sartori’s early book Democratic Theory (translation of his Democrazia e Definizione) but also both parts to his 1987 book The Theory […]
A right royal rip-off – how much should Commonwealth nations pay for the Queen’s Jubilee?
A right royal rip-off – how much should Commonwealth nations pay for the Queen’s Jubilee? Originally published by The Conversation, February 7, 2012. [This short essay actually resulted from a heated debate during a dinner with my family. One member, to remain nameless, is a staunch monarchist. The rest, sensible, gracious, (of course in my eyes), democrats with […]
Recent Comments