Democracy in Five Minutes

We hear a lot lately about the right to "due process." Where does this right come from and why is it important?

What if federal judges rule against the president and the president simply ignores them? Is there anything the courts can do?

Amidst President Trump's flurry of actions during his first 100 days in office that have affected numerous policy areas, people have increasingly turned to the courts to challenge many of his decisions. To what extent are federal courts acting consistently with democratic principles and the Constitution when they render decisions that place checks on presidential power?

This week's episode explores the broad tariffs that President Trump has assessed on the nation's trading partners. How has the president been able to enact such dramatic policy changes so rapidly? Why isn't Congress playing more of a role? Are there guardrails in place that can limit potential economic damage from these protectionist policies?

Last week's episode explored how different institutions of American democracy provide guardrails that prevent leaders from abusing power. Today's discussion continues that theme and considers when people might mobilize those guardrails in response to presidents using Executive Orders. What are Executive Orders and what do they allow presidents to do? What harm can guardrails prevent when presidents try to use Executive Orders in ways that exceed the authority of their office?

Institutions create important checks on ambitious politicians. That can frustrate elected officials and the people at times because these checks slow government down. Still, there are good reasons why democracies constrain individual leaders from acting without oversight. How do these guardrails work? What happens if they become weak or leaders undermine them?

If democracy means rule by the people, then one thing democratic systems need to figure out is: Who are the people? Who counts? Who might not count? These questions are critical because how a democracy answers them can influence who has power and how they get to exercise it.

Some call the United States a democracy and others push back and say no, it's a republic. What's the difference? Does it matter?

This brief (even less than 5 minutes!) installment provides an overview of the goals and format for the podcast. Please reach out if you have ideas for future episodes. I would love to hear from you at pmanna at wm dot edu.
(Music credit: Beautiful Classical Music Theme by TheoJT -- https://freesound.org/s/698280/ -- License: Attribution 4.0.)