Democracy under Threat: Protest, Tumult, and Cutting Off the King’s Head
2026 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Boston, MA | Register here
In-Person | Full Paper Panel
Participants:
- (Chair) Spasenka Anastasova, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje
- (Discussant) Kathleen R. Arnold, DePaul University
- (Discussant) Karen Zivi, Grand Valley State University
Session Description:
This panel focuses first on understanding sovereign power as something different from and even opposed to the rule of law, separation of powers, and/or rights-based duties and claims in a liberal representative government. Second, some participants analyze political agency and protest in a sovereign political context. That is, protesters do not necessarily have civil rights but are instead confronting the “warfare” state, as Sheldon Wolin has characterized it. Focusing on the power of the demos to form issue-based grassroots challenges, interruptions, and even mockery of authority figures, panel presenters draw on critical theory (broadly defined) to analyze facets of these informal power trends. Machiavelli’s analysis of ancient Roman “tumults” illustrates the ways in which these assertions of agency alter, stop, and/or effectively challenge what appears to be unbroken authority. Foundations is our first choice the system only asks for a second choice.