Feb 15, 2025 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Journalism, Bias & Censored News
Much of the energy world is waiting on the Trump Administration to disperse funds that Congress directed to be used to support specific types of energy projects. The Administration’s withholding of that money is just one small stream in a firehose of illegal,...
Oct 30, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition
One of the recurring themes in Climate of Contempt is that while modern media doesn’t change human nature, it does amplify the worst aspects of human nature in powerful ways. The book recommends extended political dialogue across ideological and partisan boundaries, a...
Jul 15, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism
In an earlier post I noted the growing list of scholars who warn of parallels between historical transitions from democracy to repressive dictatorships, on the one hand, and U.S. politics today, on the other. Part of what they see has to do with the recent...
Jun 20, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism
In last chapter of Climate of Contempt, I argue that the future of the energy transition is intertwined with the future of liberal democracy. I write in chapter 6 that only voters can peacefully reverse the “trend of ever-increasing polarization and tribalism,”...
Jun 1, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism
One of the central implications of the analysis in Climate of Contempt is that the energy transition is inextricably intertwined with U.S. political dysfunction. In chapter 6 I cite scholars who study transitions from democracy to populist authoritarianism who contend...
