The New Republic

by Eric RauchwayBill's very kind to suggest I would know anything useful about the question of whether we can measure a connection between paranoia and punitiveness. He suggests we look at the imprisonment rate divided by the crime rate--which certainly seems like a good working measure of punitiveness--and notes that in the U.S. it's risen considerably lately. Okay, now could we test that against some index of--if not paranoia, then maybe expressed anxiety about threats to the social order? Does such a thing exist? READ MORE >>

by Jacob T. LevyAm I the only one who was a bit daunted by David's opening post that READ MORE >>

Darrin makes a good point about the gap between what fascist means to academics (when they're not talking about Bush) and what it means to the rest of the American public. However, this Hassan Fattah story in the NYT points out the ways in which the administration's use of the term seems to defy both categorizations: READ MORE >>

by Cass Sunstein As several commentators have suggested, we can't have much of a handle on ideological amplification without knowing what produces it. And as Steven Pinker has said, ideological amplification is just a special case of the broader phenomenon of group polarization. READ MORE >>

by Eric RauchwayOur Open U colleague David Greenberg has a nice piece in Slate on how the 1927 flood spurred the federal government to take greater responsibility for its citizens. I think this is true, but not true enough, and the difference between the two isn't just historians' quibbling: It goes to the big question of what it takes to get the American people to support what, for the sake of convenience, let's call "bigger government." Does it take a disaster? And how big a disaster does it take? READ MORE >>

by David GreenbergAfter posting that first comment, I realized the infelicities of my phrasing and realized I'd probably be tweaked for it. I just didn't expect it would be from one of our own bloggers! But as I hope Jacob and our readers appreciate, I had no intention of brushing past the many excellent academic blogs already out there. READ MORE >>

by Sanford LevinsonI note the important development that in the UK seven junior ministers have resigned in protest over Tony Blair's refusal to indicate a date certain (and fairly soon) by which he will step down. Blair's resignation, whether voluntary or forced, would not force new elections or a transfer of power to the Tories. Rather, a leader viewed, rightly or wrongly, as widely discredited (as was Margaret Thatcher in 1990), simply leaves office, to be succeeded by a fellow party member (as Thatcher was succeeded by John Major, who won the next election). READ MORE >>

by David A. BellInteresting post by Sanford Levinson. I do wonder, though, about the danger of votes of no confidence in a system of divided powers, as opposed to Britain's parliamentary system. Imagine what might happen if, for instance, Tom Delay-style Republicans ever achieved a two-thirds majority in Congress. READ MORE >>

by Bill StuntzSorry to be late to the party, and thanks to TNR for allowing me to participate. READ MORE >>

by Jacob S. READ MORE >>