War, Oligarchs, and the Future of Ukraine’s Political Economy – Inna Melnykovska on Civic Transformation, Reconstruction and EU Influence in Wartime Ukraine

In our latest episode of the special series produced in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, we discuss the recent article co-authored by Steven Levitsky, Semuhi Sinanoglu, and Lucan Way, entitled “Can Capitalism SaveDemocracy?” (Journal of Democracy, Vol. 36, No. 3, July 2025). We engage this provocative piece against the backdrop of recent shifts in industrialized countries, where the private sector has assumed an increasinglyprominent political role. Way and Sinanoglu contend that the private sector can empower democracies by fostering creative competition. They argue that capitalism generates an autonomous business class, broadens economicopportunities, and mobilizes resources that in turn strengthen democratic institutions and expand civic participation. Drawing on both historical precedent and contemporary politics, the authors reflect on capitalism’senduring imperfections while presenting it as a plausible—if contested—force for democratic change worldwide.

In this episode of Democracy and Culture, we speak with Dan Edelstein, William H. Bonsall Professor of French at StanfordUniversity, about his new book The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Stasis to Lenin (Princeton University Press, 2025). His academic investigations range across literary studies, historiography, political thought and digital humanities. Throughout our conversation, we focuson providing a new understanding of the concept of revolution. In his latest book, by tracing the conceptual distinction between stasis and metabolē through Roman, medieval, and Renaissance thought, he recovers the overlooked role of Polybius in shaping the constitutional imagination of early modern Europe. In our podcast, Edelstein explains how the perception of revolution shifted from a destabilizing event to a future-oriented project tied to Enlightenment ideas of historical progress. As well, another point of discussion is howpolitical actors re-interpreted revolutions through inherited “scripts”. The podcast also focuses on the recurring modern pattern in which revolutions consolidate around a single leader. By situating revolutions in a longue durée conceptual history, Edelstein challenges us to see them not as sudden breaks, but as episodes in an evolving, centuries-long dialogue between inherited political imaginaries and the real events.Edelstein’s recovery of ancient and early modern frameworks enriches our understanding of modern revolutions. Particularly the “script” metaphor is a compelling tool for explaining why upheavals often replay familiar patterns.Yet this focus on elite textual traditions risks overlooking the revolutionary imaginaries of actors outside the Greco-Roman canon, from peasants to colonized peoples, whose visions of change may refer to different temporalities and symbolic repertoires. At the same time, the podcast is a fresh proposal for scholars and historians to rethink longue durée (dis)continuities of revolutions.

On 1 June 2025, the second round of Poland’s presidential election resulted in a surprise win for Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party, over Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the ruling Civic Coalition. The knife-edge campaign highlighted deep social divisions in the Polish society. In Part 1 of this podcast, Professor Maciej Kisilowski examined the reasons for this electoral development as well as its implications for Poland’s political dynamics overthe next few years. In this part, Professor Kisilowski lays out his proposals for a new constitutional settlement for Poland, aimed at addressing the roots and consequences of the severe polarization of the Polish society. He builds upon the arguments expounded in a volume edited by him and Professor Anna Wojciuk, Umówmy się na Polskę (ZNAK 2023), in which thinkers from all across the political spectrum shared their ideas for changing Poland’s political status quo. Thebook is due to be published in English on 9 September 2025 by Oxford University Press under the title Let’sAgree on Poland.

In this new episode of our special series produced in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley draw on their new article “Democracy After Illiberalism: A Warning from Poland” (July 2025, Vol. 26, No. 3) to discuss the challenges, dilemmas, and paradoxes ofliberalism after illiberalism in Poland. They reflect on the concepts of liberalism and illiberalism to dissect the approach Donald Tusk’s current government has taken and its major consequences. They also consider the wider lessons that may be drawn from recent and ongoing Polish experiences.Stanley Bill is professor of Polish Studies at the University of Cambridge. Ben Stanley is associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, SWPS University, Warsaw. They co-authored Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’sIlliberal Revolution (2025).

In Part 2 of our latest episode in the special seriesproduced in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Berk Esen turns to the other side of the equation: how Turkey’s opposition is pushing back against an increasingly hegemonic regime. This episode builds on Part1, where we explored the regime’s authoritarian escalation through thecourts, media, and economic coercion. Drawing on his co-authored piece with Şebnem Gümüşçü, “How to Fight Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn” (Journal of Democracy, July 2025, Vol. 36, No. 3), Esen analyzes President RecepTayyip Erdoğan’s recent attempts to court Kurdish voters through cross-party alliances and a renewed peace process. He discusses the main opposition party’s efforts to sustain mass mobilization after its presidential candidate Ekremİmamoğlu’s arrest, while navigating internal and strategic risks amid a judicial effort to reshape its leadership. Esen also reflects on what distinguishes Turkey from other authoritarian cases such as Venezuela, the resourcesand constraints shaping democratic resistance, and the key factors likely to determine the country’s prospects for democratic renewal.

How is war transforming Ukraine’s economy—and itsoligarchs? In this Review of Democracy podcast, political economist Inna Melnykovska (Central European University) discusses how the full-scale Russian invasion has led to surprising shifts in business-state relations, including a turn toward civic responsibility among Ukraine’s biggest companies. In conversation with editor Kristóf Szombati, Melnykovska explains why classic concepts like state capture and patronal politics no longer fully capture Ukraine’s evolving reality. She explores how wartime pressures have triggered new forms of corporate citizenship, how power has become more centralized politically but more diverse economically, and why EU conditionality and civil society oversight are key to shaping a fair postwar recovery. This timely conversation sheds light on Ukraine’s transformation in the face of existential crisis—andwhat’s at stake as the country looks toward reconstruction and EU integration.

In Part 1 of our latest edition in the special series in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Berk Esen unpacks how Turkey’s competitive authoritarian regime is veering toward full autocracy.Drawing on his co-authored piece with Şebnem Gümüşçü, “How to Fight Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn” (July 2025, Vol. 36, No. 3), Esen charts Erdoğan’s intensifying use of courts, media, and economic coercion to silence dissent andsideline his chief rival in the next presidential elections, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. He discusses Turkey’s drift from electoral competitiveness toward hegemonic rule, the role of autocratic legalism, and the prospects for resistance in a rapidly shrinking democratic space.

In current public discourse, human rights violationsat the EU’s borders are inextricably linked to one specific actor: the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – or, in short, Frontex. Since its establishment in 2004, human rights activists have become increasingly aware of variousrights violations committed by the agency, particularly in the Mediterranean. To name just one example, Frontex has been accused of providing the locations of migrants intercepted at sea to the Libyan coast guard, which then transportedthem to camps where they have been systematicallyraped, tortured, and enslaved. Remarkably, despite accusations of the most severe human rights violations, Frontex has largely managed to avoid legal consequences. Currently, Frontex stands before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU for the first time in its history.In this conversation, Dr. Joyce De Coninck explainswhy Frontex has so far evaded accountability for severe human rights violations and discusses legal pathways for change. The conversation begins with an analysis of Frontex’s history, during which its representatives have consistently promoted a specific narrative that remains central tounderstanding why the agency has been able to avoid accountability for so long: that Frontex acts only in a “coordinating and supporting” role. According to De Coninck, this is problematic because, although Frontex has grown substantially in both budget and competencies overthe past 20 years, the narrative of it playing only a minor role has remained unchanged. The conversation then turns to how this narrative is reflected in concrete cases, as De Coninck explains how Frontex’s joint operations with EUmember states shield the agency from legal consequences—and offers legal solutions to address this issue. The discussion then shifts to the broader challenges faced by human rights litigants in the EU. The final part of the interview focuses on the risk of frustration and fatalism among human rightsactivists confronting an EU that appears increasingly willing to contribute to the erosion of those rights. De Coninck cautions against adopting a defeatist stance and references Professor Gráinne De Búrca’s concept of HumanRights Experimentalism. Despite its challenges regarding effectiveness and potential negative consequences, this approach views the human rights project as an iterative and deliberative process—one in which attempts by publicauthorities to circumvent rights are far from abnormal. Human rights remain an ongoing struggle, and such actions must be met with counterarguments, not defeatism.

On 1 June 2025, the second round of Poland’s presidential election resulted in a surprise win for Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party, over Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the ruling Civic Coalition. Trzaskowski had previously lost in 2020 to the incumbent President Andrzej Duda, albeit by anarrow margin of just over two percentage points – an impressive result, considering that Duda’s party, Law and Justice, was then in power and controlled the state apparatus and media. Yet, despite seemingly more favorable conditions for Trzaskowski this time around, Nawrocki still managed to prevail by just under 400,000 votes.In Part 1 of this podcast, Professor Maciej Kisilowskiexamines the reasons for this electoral development as well as its implications for Poland’s political dynamics over the next few years. In particular, he addresses the issue of whether Polish liberals and progressives are capable ofcorrectly identifying the prevailing sentiments in a deeply divided society. In Part 2, Professor Kisilowski lays out his proposalsfor a new constitutional settlement for Poland, aimed at addressing the roots and consequences of severe polarization of the Polish society.

In this new episode of our monthly special created in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Richard Javad Heydarian discusses the Philippines’ dynastic democracy and political prospects in a truly global framework.Drawing on his recent article, “The Philippines’ Dynastic Democracy” (July 2025, Vol. 26, No. 3), Heydarian dissects the main issues and key outcomes of the midterm elections in May; reflects on how the Philippines has been impacted by the sharpening global superpower competition; provides an insider account of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and capture by the International Criminal Court; and considers the chances of as well as obstacles to a liberal-progressive breakthrough.Richard Javad Heydarian is a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines, Asian Center, and a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. His books include The Rise of Duterte: A Populist Revolt Against Elite Democracy (2018) and The Indo-Pacific: Trump, China, and the New Struggle for Global Mastery (2020).The conversation was conducted by Ferenc Laczó. Lilit Hakobyan edited the audio file.