Kenneth Roberts Says the Left Pays a Steep Price for Breaking with Democracy

About this episode

Kenneth Roberts discusses the consequences for the left when they abandon democratic norms.

The left pays a very steep price when they break with democratic norms and procedures. Kenneth Roberts Kenneth Roberts is the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University. He is the coauthor (with Santiago Anria) of Polarization and Democracy in Latin America: Legacies of the Left Turn. The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Read the full transcript here. Key Hig...

People in this episode

Host: Justin Kempf

Guest: Kenneth Roberts

Topics covered

• democracy
• political norms
• left politics
• Latin America
• polarization

Keywords

• democracy
• left politics
• Kenneth Roberts
• Cornell University
• polarization
• Latin America

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cornell University, Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame

Books & works: Polarization and Democracy in Latin America: Legacies of the Left Turn

More episodes of Democracy Paradox

• Dan Slater Says Authoritarian Ideologies Still Matter · June 10, 2026 · 47 min
• Guillermo Trejo on Accountability, Impunity, and the Fate of New Democracies · May 27, 2026 · 58 min
• Sheri Berman Says the Democratic Recession Was Not a Surprise · April 29, 2026 · 51 min
• Christopher Walker Revisits Sharp Power · April 15, 2026 · 45 min
• Hugo Drochon Says Elites Are Inevitable · April 1, 2026 · 48 min
• Milan Svolik Asks: Do Voters Really Support Democracy? · March 18, 2026 · 1h 1m