Books

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a leading figure of the “illiberal democracy” model, shakes hands with Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s Vox party, known for its nationalist, anti-immigration, and illiberalism (CC0).

Why Illiberalism Explains Changes in Today’s Social Order

About The Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism, edited by Marlene Laruelle and published by Oxford University Press in 2025.

By

Marlene Laruelle

14 Min Read

Human Rights Discourse: Language, Translation and Genre

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

14 Min Read

Making Americans Bankrupt Again?

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City, home to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York—where some of the nation’s most consequential decisions on who gets to go bankrupt are made.

14 Min Read

A Comprehensive Search for a Fair Immigration Policy

A solitary figure faces the border fence at the U.S.–Mexico divide. The image evokes questions of exclusion, visibility, and the human cost of national boundaries — all central themes in contemporary immigration policy debates.

15 Min Read

Dual Justice: Crime, Class, and Corporate Accountability

Facade of the New York Stock Exchange—an enduring symbol of corporate power and economic influence, central to the legal double standards explored in Dual Justice.

18 Min Read

Land Remains the World’s Engine of Social Change

Aerial view of a village and its surrounding fields land organization continues to shape power and inequality in modern societies.

13 Min Read

The Multiple Political Orders in New York City

Political order: Skyscrapers converge against a stark black sky in Manhattan, capturing the scale and symmetry of New York City’s urban order.

11 Min Read

Politics of Love

Love: Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan wave from behind a long wooden table at an official event, standing against a plain blue background.

97 Min Read

We Were Never Meant to Obey: Weaving Abolitionist Constellations

Abolition : Artwork by Shepard Fairey. A powerful visual of Black resistance and radical truth-telling, challenging the structures of obedience through unapologetic presence and voice.

14 Min Read

Suicide by False Belief

15 Min Read

Voice and Protest in Times of Democratic Decline

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza, using visual and performative acts to claim political visibility and challenge dominant narratives. Such collective action exemplifies the use of voice beyond formal democratic institutions. Photo by Alisdare Hickson (CC BY-SA).

15 Min Read

Why Are Governments Short-Sighted?

Franklin D. Roosevelt giving a Fireside Chat, illustrating the contrast between long-form political communication and today’s short attention span politics.

16 Min Read

How State Sovereignty Fuels Language Loss: Lessons from Tibet

The Potala Palace served as the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, following the 1959 uprising in defense of Tibetan sovereignty.

15 Min Read

Persecution and Genocide: A Long History

Illustration of the persecution and murder of Hypatia of Alexandria by Lee Woodward Zeigler, from Charles Kingsley’s Hypatia (early 20th-century edition). The image dramatizes the philosopher's brutal death in 415 CE at the hands of a Christian mob, amidst religious and political upheaval in late antique Alexandria.

17 Min Read

What Gets Absorbed? Jews, Race, and Identity Across the Americas

A street view of Harlem, New York—an urban space that, like many across the Americas, has borne witness to shifting racial and communal boundaries shaped by patterns of absorption, mobility, and exclusion.

13 Min Read

Commercial Art and the Urban Spectacle of Modern Japan

Contemporary view of Ginza, Tokyo. The illuminated spectacle of branded signage reflects the long-term influence of Commercial Art on Japan’s urban consumer spaces.

7 Min Read

When Too Much Freedom Leads to Tyranny

Freedom_statue-of-liberty-storm-clouds-new-york

15 Min Read

Who Are the War Criminals, Genocidaires, and Terrorists?

Criminal Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust, stands trial in Jerusalem in 1961. Seated in a bulletproof glass booth, he became the embodiment of Hannah Arendt’s controversial concept of the “banality of evil.”

17 Min Read

Truth and Authoritarianism in America

The erosion of truth as a democratic norm is starkly illustrated by the political strategies of President Donald Trump, in which factual accuracy is systematically subordinated to ideological loyalty.

Books Analysis & Theories

17 Min Read

The History of Tech-As-Religion

Holding faith and code: a visual metaphor of technology's rise as a modern belief system.

12 Min Read

Moral Judgement and the Normativity of Practical Identities

This marble sculpture depicts a young Aristotle in deep contemplation, symbolizing the early development of moral judgment and philosophical inquiry.

22 Min Read

Religion in International Politics: Power and Influence

Faith and Power: World Leaders in Prayer – A Moment of Reflection in International Politics. President George W. Bush, Mrs. Laura Bush, Former President George H. W. Bush, Mrs. Barbara Bush, Former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton, bow their heads during the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Books Politics & Religion

19 Min Read

A New History of Atlantic Slavery from the Global South

Books Political History

16 Min Read

Does Free Speech Have a Future?

A political street mural in San Diego with bold red, black, and beige tones. It features a woman holding a newspaper questioning climate denial, propaganda-style posters, and imagery related to surveillance and control. The artwork highlights free speech, censorship, and political power dynamics.

Books Freedom of Expression

21 Min Read

When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness

Animal Dream: A red fox sleeps peacefully in the sunlight, its body relaxed and still. Photo by Qijun Huang.

Books Environment & Animals

14 Min Read

Marijuana Rescheduling: Federal Uncertainty in the U.S.

Black and white close-up photograph of a marijuana leaf, showing its serrated edges and detailed texture against a blurred background.

9 Min Read

The Economic Consequences of Milton Friedman

A detailed black and white sketch of Milton Friedman, deep in thought with his hand resting on his chin. Milton Friedman, known for his influential work on free-market policies and the economic consequences of his theories.

15 Min Read

Studying Taiwan from Its Own Perspective: Why It Matters

A nighttime aerial view of Taipei, Taiwan, featuring the illuminated Taipei 101 surrounded by skyscrapers. The image highlights the city's urban infrastructure and economic development

16 Min Read

A History of Liberalism for Illiberal Times: Freedom from Fear

Alexis de Tocqueville was a keen observer of democracy. His work Democracy in America (1835) analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of democratic societies, warning against the tyranny of the majority and the dangers of centralized power.

15 Min Read

Selected Works in Social Sciences and Humanities

The Book Curator

Laureate Picks

Enslaved People _Cover-of-the-book-Patchwork-Freedoms_Law-Slavery-and-Race-beyond-Cubas-Plantations-by-Adriana-Chira

Patchwork Freedoms: How Enslaved People Won Their Rights

cover of The Creole Archipelago: Race and Borders in the Colonial Caribbean

Rethinking Colonial Caribbean History

Colonialism-Cover of the book Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects

3 Ways Colonialism Shaped Modern Inequality

Cover of the book Resisting-Change-in-Suburbia

Asian Immigration and the Myth of Suburban Stability

Cover of the Book Laboratories against Democracy-National Politics

How U.S. States Became Battlegrounds for National Politics

Cover of the book Winners and Losers. The Psychology of Foreign Trade

Why Public Opinion on Trade Is Not Just About Economics