Follow Up Resources from Zoom Office Hours (2/1)

We had a great (albeit depressing) discussion yesterday about the FBI; the obstacles to countering information operations because of the U.S.’s conceptual and legal distinctions between foreign/domestic, war/peace, and public/private; and some of the progress we made in breaking these siloes to combat election interference in 2020. Here are a few things that were referenced during the hour:

How Democracies Die, by Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levisky (this is a MUST READ, in my opinion)

How Fascism Works, by Jason Stanley (essential for understanding the current right-wing attack on universities, as in Florida)

The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, by Richard Haas

The Educating for American Democracy Project, led by Harvard Professor Danielle Allen (there are lots of articles about this but here is a PBS interview with Allen)

An opinion piece in Politico advocating for a 19th intelligence agency in the Department of Commerce to combat economic espionage (an earlier opinion piece on the same topic is here)

As I mentioned on the Zoom, I have a slightly more upbeat lecture planned for next week as preparation for the following week’s guest lecture by Tim Weiner, author of The Folly & The Glory: America, Russia, and Political Warfare 1945-2020 (and Enemies of the FBI, also excellent). He’ll be joining us at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 15 (recording will be posted for paid subscribers the following day).

As always, students who are just joining the course can catch up on earlier material at your own pace by checking the syllabus or the Democracy in the (Dis)Information Age tab on the home page.

What I’m Reading Now

I just cracked open G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, by my friend, colleague, and historian, Yale Professor Beverly Gage. It’s already juicy — I may have to bring Professor Gage in for a Wine & Fries discussion when I’m done, so stay tuned!