Alex Castro

Pork Barrel Spending: How an Anti-corruption Measure Heightens Polarization and Threatens American Democracy

While ostensibly a positive effort against corruption, the voluntary banning of pork-barrel spending has contributed to the erosion of American democracy by encouraging hyperpolarization on the...

The Election of Yoshihide Suga: Gatekeeping in Japan

University of Chicago

During the chaotic year of 2020, many Americans can be forgiven for missing a recent transition of power in Japan, but it represents a worrying case of democratic erosion with lessons for our own...