The backdrop

The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis, Jared Yates Sexton

New models for 21st century democracy

Our Common Purpose, American Academy of the Arts & Sciences
DemocracyFund
So You Want to Reform Democracy, Joshua Tauberer
Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy…, E. Posner and E. Glen Weyl

De-escalating polarization

Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop, Lee Drutman
Purplestatesofamerica.org
Mozilla response to the movie “The Social Dilemma”
“If you understand trumpism as a latent authoritarianism present in most of us…” – @criener (November 2020)
“Want unity? Then screw empathy.” – @hardsci (November 2020)
“Unity is great, but freedom is better.” – Yvette Simpson
“Signal detection analysis reveals that partisan bias increases people’s susceptibility to fake news…” – @jayvanbavel

Defeating authoritarianism: 2020 and 2021 events

The election will likely spark violence — and a constitutional crisis, Rosa Brooks (September 2020)
China under Xi Jinping feels increasingly like North Korea, Anna Fifield (September 2020)
Trump’s Turn from Immigration to the Enemy Within, Ryan Devereaux (October 2020)
How Voter Intimidation Could Get Uglier, Brentin Mock (October 2020)
A guide to what the next president will have to unwind, Amy Siskind (October 2020)
Trump is attempting a coup in plain sight, Ezra Klein (November 2020)
When Michigan Republicans Refused to Certify Votes, It Wasn’t Normal, Maggie Astor (November 2020)
It Wasn’t Strictly a Coup Attempt. But It’s Not Over, Either., Amanda Taub (January 2021)
Far-right digital media paved the way for the riot in Washington, The Economist (January 2021)

Defeating authoritarianism: analysis and recommendations

The inescapable trilemma of the world economy, Dani Rodrik (2007)
A New Road to Serfdom, Rusty Guinn (January 2020)
The Dictator’s Handbook, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
10 things you need to know to stop a coup, Daniel Hunter (September 2020)
Accountability 2021
The Democratic Surround, Fred Turner
Wagnerism, Alex Ross
Fascinating Fascism, Susan Sontag
On the aestheticization of politics (I, II, III, IV, V)@basicallyvacant [language warning]

Protecting the vote

The Market for Voting Machines Is Broken. This Company Has Thrived in It., J. Huseman (October 2019)
Keep Voting Until We Get it Right, Mike Kubzansky, Omidyar Network (October 2020)
Texas disenfranchises voters: Isochrone analysis shows 2M+ negatively impacted…, Alex Yule (October 2020)
Georgia Nonprofit Advocacy Groups Create “Good Trouble,” Beth Couch (November 2020)

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