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In the immediate post-Trump moment and in the middle of the Russian war to extinguish democracy in Ukraine, The New Republic hosted an online forum with three authors, all of whom write about the state of democracy in the world.

It was a fairly depressing show, although full of smart insights. Moderator (and New Republic Editor) Michael Tomasky and three author-guests are all worried about the health and future of democracy in both the world (with autocratic Russias invasion of democratic Ukraine in mind) and the United States (having just survived, at least for the moment, a democracy disrespecting president who worked to steal a second term, and didnt miss it by all that much).

Journalist and author David Rieff, who wrote a great book about the civil war in Bosnia in the 1990s, took the present moment to signal that the immediate post-Cold War period, sometimes referred to as the dawning of an age of the long peace, is over, if it ever really occurred.

But the attempted Russian overthrow of democracy in Ukraine is not the resumption of the old Cold War. The new superpower rivalry is between the United States and China, and the panelists noted that the global alternative to the U.S. model is now China, which practices a combination of authoritarianism and capitalism and now represents the key rivalry that defines the current moment and the foreseeable future, Rieff said.

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China has brought hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty, without giving them democracy. If youre poor and hungry, Rieff asked, what means more to you: food or freedom?

He answered his own question thus: First grub, then ethics, he said. And he tossed in a reference to the rise of Donald Trump, who seemed, at least to his supporters, to be offering likewise a choice between democracy and prosperity.

In the panel discussion, Rieff asserted that the portion of earthlings living under full democracy is down from its peak by something approaching a third. Thats creepy, if true, although I suppose data is hard to come by.

Rieff also tossed in a reference to the question of whether the United States really represents full democracy as much as we are raised to believe, considering the famous undemocratic features of the U.S. system like the U.S. Senate (where California and Wyoming have equal power), and the electoral college system, in which the popular-vote loser can defeat the popular-vote winner, and the role that money plays in allowing some citizens to matter more than others in our politics.

Panelist Barbara F. Walter, a University of California at San Diego professor who writes about something called anocracy, brought that concept into the discussion to complicate the question of whether nations really face a choice between tyranny and democracy.

(An anocracy is a form of government that is neither a full democracy nor a full dictatorship, but has elements of both. I wrote a separate piece on Walters work, when I first heard of anocracy. She believes that full democracies rarely have civil wars. And full autocracies rarely have civil wars. Its the anocracies in between that are particularly at risk.)

Walter asserts that the United States is best understood as an anocracy, with state-by-state differences in who gets to vote and how easy it is to vote (among other factors), complicating the straightforward choice between democracy and totalitarian regimes.

Recent presidential elections have been full of examples of states that make it easier or harder to vote, and, of course, Republicans and Donald Trump have been in full rebellion against ways, generally favored by Democrats, to make it easier to vote.

Partial democracies (such as ours, under this telling) can provide opportunities for political parties to take advantage of racial and religious differences, Walter said. And that decreases the likelihood that the losing side in an election will peacefully abide by the result. Walter has argued that full democracies rarely have civil wars. And full autocracies rarely have civil wars. Its the ones that are in between that are particularly at risk.

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The third panelist was Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at University of California San Diego, whose most recent book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, included Trump as one of the strongmen rulers in the Mussolini mold.

She said that Trump had autocratic aims to run the country as a cult of Trump, in which the personal needs and wants of the leader can be achieved by decree; a system in which, she said, loyalty to the leader, rather than competence, become the key reason for holding office.

She was struck by the cultish decision of the Republican Party heading into the 2020 campaign to forego adopting a party platform (as major parties have adopted for centuries).

She talked about Trumps Jan. 6 scheme to steal a second term (she called it a self-coup), which she said comes from the playbook of autocrats. She also referred to it as a leader-cult rescue operation. The last point is that if you want to have a leadership culture that supports autocracy.

She added: As a first generation American, I will never get over the fact that someone as criminal as Trump was able to be in the White House, and he was criminal in so many ways.

Tomasky, who moderated this event is, by the way, editor of not only the long-time liberal New Republic but he also edits also a quarterly journal on democracy (named, aptly, Democracy.)

Id like to provide a link to the whole online discussion, but TNR hasnt posted the video yet. I will include a link here once it is.

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Assessing the depressing state of democracy around the globe - MinnPost

United Democracy Project, a super PAC recently launched by the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, claimed decisive wins in two races for open House seats in North Carolina on Tuesday, but fell short of delivering similar results in a closely watched congressional contest in Pittsburgh and its suburbs.

That matchup, where UDP had spent most heavily, remains too close to call.

The trio of primaries had been viewed as the first major test of UDPs political muscle as the group which represents AIPACs first foray into campaign politics prepares to engage in a number of upcoming races where opposing approaches to Israel are likely to fuel tension.

It remains to be seen if the pro-Israel outfit will achieve a clean sweep as final votes are tallied in Pennsylvanias 12th District, where progressive state Rep. Summer Lee has already declared victory over UDP-backed attorney Steve Irwin.

But Rob Bassin, UDPs chief executive and former longtime AIPAC political director, summarized the results in a positive light during an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday. It was, he said, a very good night for pro-Israel progressive candidates.

In North Carolinas 1st District, state Sen. Don Davis defeated former state Sen. Erica Smith by a two-to-one margin, while in the neighboring 4th, state Sen. Valerie Foushee prevailed over Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam and American Idol star Clay Aiken.

UDP spent $2.1 million backing Foushee and $2.4 million supporting Davis and opposing Smith.

The super PAC topped out at a staggering $2.7 million on behalf of Irwin, a mainstream Democrat who even with backing from the party establishment in Allegheny County had struggled to gain traction until the final weeks of the bitterly contested race to succeed outgoing Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA).

UDP worked aggressively to reverse that dynamic, unleashing a barrage of negative ads casting Lee, a Democratic Socialist aligned with the Squad, as a far-left radical who had attacked President Joe Bidens character and was more interested in fighting Democrats than getting results messaging her campaign rejected as grossly misleading.

In an open letter, Lees allies, including Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, also condemned UDPs attacks, noting that an AIPAC-affiliated political action committee had endorsed more than 100 Republican incumbents who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

The race came to embody the growing divisions between moderates and progressives that have been thrown into sharp relief in several recent Democratic primaries, not least where opposing approaches to Israel have emerged.

With backing from Justice Democrats, J Street and other progressive groups, Lee, 34, argued in favor of conditioning U.S. aid to Israel and drew scrutiny from Jewish voters in the district for social media comments in which she had harshly criticized the Israeli government last year during the May conflict with Hamas.

Irwin, who is Jewish, described himself as a proud supporter of Israel, emphasizing a deeply held connection with the Jewish state.

He earned support from a number of pro-Israel groups, including Pro-Israel America, a bipartisan organization that listed the race as among its top priorities in the midterms, and Democratic Majority for Israel, whose political arm spent more spent more than $400,000.

The current vote tally shows Lee ahead by some 400 votes. It is likely to be updated as early as Friday.

While Irwin, 62, called for a need to respect the process of counting the ballots in a statement on Wednesday, Lee had claimed victory by late Tuesday night as the vote count inched upward in her favor.

They hit us with everything they had, and we clawed and we ran, and we got the power of the people, she said in a triumphant speech. Were out here in Western Pennsylvania fighting for the future of the whole country.

Bassin, however, scoffed at such declarations.

I think its kind of amazing that Summer Lee is being described as the comeback of the night, he said in the interview with JI, noting that Lee, who rose to prominence in 2018 after unseating an entrenched Democratic incumbent, had launched her campaign as the prohibitive favorite to win the seat.

By late March, Lee who would be Pennsylvanias first Black congresswoman had opened up a daunting 25-point lead over Irwin, according to a poll conducted by an outside group supporting her campaign.

But by late April, following UDPs entry into the race, Irwin had mounted a late comeback and had narrowed the margin to a statistical dead heat, according to polling obtained by JI and conducted for the Irwin campaign.

Bassin confirmed that UDPs own polling had shown a similar trajectory, but drew a different lesson from the outcome. The fact that Steve Irwin went from being a relatively almost completely unknown figure to contesting this race, he said, is rather extraordinary.

He noted that Justice Democrats as well as other groups including the Working Families Party had spent more than $1.7 million on Lees behalf, though that number was dwarfed by UDP.

The fact that she may barely eke out a victory, Bassin argued, suggests that her brand of anti-Israel, far-left, out-of-the-mainstream doesnt resonate with the majority of Democrats.

Lees campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from JI.

UDP has said it is targeting races where there is a clear difference between a candidate who supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and a candidate who will seek to undermine that relationship.

But while critics have noted that UDPs ads have so far made no mention of Israel, Bassin dismissed such charges as hypocritical. I think its ironic that the anti-Israel left doesnt complain when anti-Israel organizations run independent expenditures against mainstream pro-Israel Democrats, he said, but find it highly objectionable when organizations supporting mainstream progressive pro-Israel Democrats get involved in politics.

In all of these cases, I think that anti-Israel organizations hope to make an issue out of the candidates pro-Israel support, to no effect.

UDP is currently involved in a runoff for Texass 28th District next Tuesday, where it has spent more than $1 million boosting embattled Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), a conservative Democrat who is facing off against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros.

Bassin said UDP would be making some additional independent expenditures in another race, but declined to elaborate further.

In the meantime, he suggested that Tuesdays results, while still somewhat unsettled, were an encouraging development for pro-Israel advocacy.

I think its notable, Bassin said, that in a very short period of time, the pro-Israel community has demonstrated it can be a significant political force.

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Rob Bassin on the impact of the United Democracy Project - Jewish Insider

The United States will reduce its aid to Tunisia after its government's "deviation from democracy," the chief of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, warned yesterday.

"Tunisia will receive less money in the 2023 budget," Power told Congress, noting that the move had come after what it described as the Tunisian government's repression of the civil society and violation of the supremacy of law and democratic standards.

The US official pointed out that the financial aid dedicated for Tunisia's Independent High Authority for Elections would be "revisited", referring to the commission's recent reshuffle.

Tunisian President Kais Saied recently issued a decree granting him the authority to appoint the commission's members, sparking a wave of political debate about the independence of the authority.

Saied has held nearly total power since25 Julywhen he sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority citing a national emergency.

READ: Tunisia party files grievance to Venice Commission over president's violation of election process

Heappointeda prime minister on 29 September and a government has since been formed.In December, Saiedannouncedthatareferendum will be held on 25 July to consider 'constitutional reforms' andelections would follow in December 2022.

The majority of the country's political parties slammed the move as a "coup against the constitution" and the achievements of the2011 revolution. Critics say Saied's decisions have strengthened the powers of the presidency at the expense of parliament and the government, and that he aims to transform the country's government into a presidential system.

On more than one occasion, Saied, who began a five-year presidential term in 2019, said that his exceptional decisions are not a coup, but rather measures within the framework of the constitution to protect the state from "imminent danger".

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US to reduce aid to Tunisia as it's 'deviating from democracy' - Middle East Monitor

A little more than 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of editing and writing a CliffsComplete volume on Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland. It was edifying, as the research I conducted led me directly back to the philosophers I had gleaned so much from in my college and literary reference book careers.

I learned from Carroll and the philosophers his book inspired and influenced the inexactitude of human language when compared to mathematics. Languages inherent inability to convey thoughts as clearly as mathematics opens the door to all types of intentional and otherwise charlatanry, which, when paired with a bent moral compass, becomes a toxic mixture. Regular readers of this fish wrap might concur.

Carroll, the nom de plume of Charles Dodgson, was a mathematician, and his childrens book serves as a light-hearted and entertaining tonic to, say, the dialectics of Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx wherein logic is jettisoned in favor of either subverting or reinforcing perceived power structures. Of course, Hegel and Marx werent alone when it came to flummoxing folk with their silver-tongued devilry.

Deceptive trickery endures to this day. In fact, it flourishes. The prevalence of logical fallacies employed by pundits and opinionmakers isnt shocking but is nevertheless disheartening. Carroll presents quite a few pertinent examples in his book. In Wonderland, Alice struggles to differentiate between saying what she means and her assertion that she means what she says, I wrote in my essay, Alice, wordplay, and the nature of language. Alice fails in both instances as pointed out by the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit in Chapter VII.

The character Alice can be forgiven her illogic due to her youthful misunderstanding of language and immaturity. Shes a work of fiction, created to entertain, and serve as a means by which Carroll could discuss the often-absurd nature of language as well as its shortcomings (among other things).

All this as prelude to the Wonderland-based U.S. Supreme Court rantings last week in this real estate. Recently weve been subjected to tiresome diatribes about democracy, which seemingly means any policy outcome favored by the author in question. Anything perceived to alter the status quo or challenge the progressive agenda is maligned as a threat to our democracy.

It must be reiterated we live in a 246-year-old republic rather than a democracy. Laws change all the time. Same with court rulings. Our Constitution has been amended and unamended, too, since it was ratified in 1789. Both Plessy v. Ferguson and Prohibition were tossed on the dust heap of history, which should be celebrated by each one of us as victories for democracy.

But Roe v. Wade? Somehow seeking to roll back this 49-year-old Supreme Court decision is tyranny and a threat to democracy? Methinks the pro-choice advocates doth protest too much. Heck, even the esteemed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared Roe a terribly considered ruling, however rock-solid her pro-abortion bona fides. Considering lawmakers had nearly a half-century to make and pass a law to codify the original SCOTUS ruling and didnt well cest la vie.

Further, removing the ruling of a previous federal court to send the final say on abortion back to the states is precisely what our democracy is about, by which I mean our system of federalism. How is top-down de-facto legislation from a Supreme Court majority based on entirely invented legal precedents anything close to democracy? Recall it was SCOTUS in January 1973 that trashed the November 1972 decision by Michigan voters to prevent the legalization of abortion.

It takes either sheer ignorance or a motivation to mislead readers into a Wonderland rabbit hole of obfuscations, dialectical errors, and logical dead ends based on a complete misrepresentation that actual democratic practices arent exactly tyranny and are, in fact, precisely the opposite.

Bruce Edward Walker (walker.editorial@gmail.com) is a Morning Sun columnist.

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Column: Charlatans and the Wonderland of democracy - The Morning Sun

Former president George W. Bush offered his most extensive public comments yet about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and elections at home during an event about democracy on Wednesday.

The event at his presidential center in Dallas, tiled Elections: A More Perfect Union, included a slate of experts on democracy and elections, and it made the connection between the threat to democracy posed by the Jan. 6 insurrection in the capital and by Russia in Ukraine. Bush came with his views on freedom and democracy, and his signature self-deprecating humor.

1. The way countries conduct elections is indicative of how their leaders treat their own people, and how nations behave toward other nations. And nowhere is this on display more clearly than Ukraine.

2. The interesting thing about elections and democracy is, it enables our democracy to heal. If you study American history, you realize that our society has been able to heal itself and improve. Thats because of elections. Im pretty confident well heal ourselves, so long as people vote and take their duty as a citizen seriously.

3. The truth of the matter is, our system works pretty well. Weve got a large complicated country with a variety of different interests and states, and yet weve been pulling off elections for a while Sometimes there are routes, and theres no question about the legitimacy of the election. And sometimes there are nail-biters, if you know what I mean honey.

4. Russian elections are rigged. Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia. And the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine. Iraq too. Anyway. 75. (A joke about his age.)

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3 quotes and a gaffe from George W. Bush about Ukraine, democracy and Iraq - The Dallas Morning News