One question I am getting a fair bit these days from German friends and family is: how come Republican politicians keep supporting Trump? Why aren’t more individual representatives speaking out, say calling for an independent investigation of potential interference by Russia? By what mechanism are they being held in line with party leadership? In Germany there is a well understood mechanism of “party discipline” that arises from the party’s role in arranging the “list order,” which is the ord...

One question I am getting a fair bit these days from German friends and family is: how come Republican politicians keep supporting Trump? Why aren’t more individual representatives speaking out, say calling for an independent investigation of potential interference by Russia? By what mechanism are they being held in line with party leadership? In Germany there is a well understood mechanism of “party discipline” that arises from the party’s role in arranging the “list order,” which is the ord...

I have written a few blog posts arguing that we need to strengthen democracy. One of my key takeaways from the current US Presidential election is that the primary election system must be reformed. I am surprised by how many people don’t know this today but the nationwide adoption of a binding primary system for the presidential election happened only after the 1968 Democratic Convention. So it is a relatively new thing and an example that not all innovations are good. What would be a better ...

I have written a few blog posts arguing that we need to strengthen democracy. One of my key takeaways from the current US Presidential election is that the primary election system must be reformed. I am surprised by how many people don’t know this today but the nationwide adoption of a binding primary system for the presidential election happened only after the 1968 Democratic Convention. So it is a relatively new thing and an example that not all innovations are good. What would be a better ...