Articles
Featured Article
Temptations of Tyranny
Rod Dreher’s conflicted support for President Trump illustrates a broader crisis among intellectual conservatives who fear the "soft totalitarianism" of liberal institutions yet embrace the hard authoritarianism of executive overreach. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s political thought, the essay contends that true freedom is preserved not through charismatic leaders but through the multiplication and decentralization of citizen power. Revitalizing democracy, it argues, requires stubborn, local acts of collective governance rather than the dangerous temptation to concentrate authority in a single figure.04-27-2025
Articles
What We're Reading
This week, Roger Berkowitz is reading Chiara Ricciardone and Robert Kehoe07-19-2019
Geuss, Habermas, and the Rose of Unreason
Martin Jay brings his perspective to the ongoing debate over Raymond Geuss's piece on Jurgen Habermas.07-19-2019
Democratic Happiness
Roger Berkowitz looks at two essays presenting differing views on democracy.07-13-2019
What We're Reading: Cultural Criticism
Hannah Arendt Center fellow Thomas Chatterton Williams responds to a New York Times op-ed.07-13-2019
Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought
Samantha Hill notes an honor shared by Hannah Arendt Center director Roger Berkowitz and Jerome Kohn.07-13-2019
Presuppositions: Reply to Benhabib and Jay
Raymond Geuss responds to Seyla Benhabib’s rejoinder. View the debate via the links below the full text of the essay.07-13-2019
Gerrymandering and State Power
Roger Berkowitz takes a look at political power in American in light of last week's Supreme Court decision on partisan gerrymandering.06-29-2019
Ethical Questions
In an article for The Intercept, Peter Maass raises questions about when non-profit institutions should question the ethical actions of their donors.06-29-2019
Ignoring history and ignoring the law
Bari Weiss and David Bromwich write about the literal erasing of history, and "non-attachment to the rule of law" at the highest levels.06-29-2019