Woman Searching for Meaning
Woman Searching for Meaning is a short, reflective podcast exploring the space between politics and personal growth.
Hosted by a French expat and politics student, it dives into feminism, progressivism, identity, and the quiet work of becoming better in a chaotic world.
For young, thoughtful minds trying to make sense of it all — one 10-minute episode at a time.
Tune in to reflect, resist, and reconnect.
Woman Searching for Meaning
Ep. 10: Democracy dying? -- with Maxi
“Is Democracy Doomed? (Or Just Having a Bad Day)”
This time I sit down with my girl Maxi, a fellow political science student at the University of Münster, who bravely took a break from writing her master’s thesis on populism in Europe to talk about—well—populism in Europe. Together we ask why everyone keeps saying democracies are in danger. Which danger, exactly? Who’s threatening whom? And which direction do we need to go to resist the authoritarian conquest?
We zoom in on the endogenous threats— coming from within democratic systems themselves. Why are today’s democracies standing in the way of their own survival?
Let’s deep dive into how populist parties hurt institutions from the inside, into why left-leaning parties seem to be losing their grip on defending democratic norms, and whether democracy as it is actually doomed… or just needs a strong cup of coffee.
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Content mentioned:
- Citations on democracy ! A few mistakes !
In “The Republic,” Plato does not consider monarchy to be the best form of government; but aristocracy ruled by philosopher-kings, the wisest individuals, for the benefit of the entire city.
• Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Gettysburg Address. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people"
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 1762. Du contrat social or Principes du droit politique.
• Winston Churchill. House of Commons. 1947. !Quoting someone anonymous other person to debunk it! “[I]t has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time; but there is the broad feeling in our country that the people should rule [...]”
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- Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt. 2018. How Democracies die.
Comparative historical analysis of several regimes (Russia, Venezuela, Hungary) showing how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power resulting in democratical backsliding.
- Crouch, C. 2004. Post-Democracy. Polity.
On the loss of political identity and party identification, showing how the vote became more complex after globalization.
- France Inter. Geoffroy de Lagasnerie. 2021. Entretien. « Manifestations et grèves sont des formes d’expression, mais plus d’action » https://youtu.be/5VVCrFhJ9vk?feature=shared
Interview of French Sociologist and Philosopher Geoffroy de Lagasnerie. He is explaining the limited reach of demonstrations and the need to infiltrate institutions as progressive/leftist people.
- Ford, Robert/Will Jennings, 2020. The Changing Cleavage Politics of Western Europe. Annual Review of Political Science 23(1): 295–314.
Comparative study of the different demographical explanations of cleavages showing that education as most distinguishing criteria but minor in explaining the populist vote.
- Ivarsflaten, E. (2008). What Unites Right-Wing Populists in Western Europe?
On the populist vote being explained first and foremost by anti-immigrant attitudes.
- Manow, P. (2023, October 25). Populism is a symptom of democracy’s deeper crisis. https://symposium.org/populism-is-a-symptom-of-democracys-deeper-crisis/
On the idea that the democratical crisis is a means to make our democracies more democratic.