Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away… democracy was in danger. Our current political environment is filled with threats to democrac...
Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away… democracy was in danger. Our current political environment is filled with threats to democracy, from the rise of authoritarian populism around the world, to the massive expansion of state power during the Covid-19 pandemic that may never fully be undone.
As constitutional law researchers, we are interested in how these threats emerge and what can be done about them. We argue in a recent paper that several useful lessons can be drawn from a surprising source: the Star Wars films.
You might fairly ask why we draw these lessons from Star Wars and not Weimar Germany or ancient Rome. But we think that there is an important role for culture in telling these stories in an accessible way.
More people will see Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar than will read detailed histories of the fall of the Roman republic. Far more people will see Star Wars, and reflect on its stories, than will ever deeply consider the risks of democratic decay in our society.
Star Wars is not just a series of science fiction films, but a cultural phenomenon. Its stories resonate with countless millions. If we can use this to highlight some of the ways that democracies die – and maybe help people think about contemporary political challenges in...
