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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Potential Demarcation Between “Old” and “New” Democratic Theory?
A Potential Demarcation Between “Old” and “New” Democratic Theory?: An Attempt at Positioning a Segment of the ExtantLiterature Originally published by Social Alternatives, 30(3), 2011, Pp. 5-9. [I wrote this for a special issue that cultural sociologist, and old friend, Nicholas Osbaldiston proposed. The piece was inspired by John Keane’s Life and Death of Democracy, […]
A New Analytic Tool Originally published as the Introduction of Evolutionary Basic Democracy: ACritical Overture, 2013, Pp. 1-14. [I am now in the process of writing my fourth book, Democracy’s Linguistic Artefacts: The Future Science, and can’t help, after reading this first book of mine again, to feel that it is very much a young […]
Constitutional Legitimacy: an International Ill and Gap in the Literature?
Constitutional Legitimacy: an International Ill and Gap in the Literature? Originally published February 25, 2011, by the Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (online April 1, 2014). [This short essay is now, thankfully, due for an update. Advances in the academic literature on constitutions and their democratic legitimacy but also the uptake of democratic innovations […]
Change Tax Tack to Take Power Back
Change tax tack to take power back Short-essay, originally published by Eureka Street, 18 November 2013. [Prior to writing this I was reading into the literature on “democratic economy” and “economic democracy” and got to thinking about the different ways we are conventionally taxed, predominantly (but not exclusively) in Australia. This led to thinking around […]
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