Derek Barker
@dwmbarker.bsky.social
Senior program officer for research initiatives, Kettering Foundation. Political theorist, editor of From Many, We blog. Studies democracy, virtue ethics, Aristotle. Orioles fan. Opinions expressed here are mine.
https://kettering.org/newsletter-optin/
https://kettering.org/newsletter-optin/
Pinned
What Unites Us: Insights from the 2025 Democracy for All Project Survey
Is Democracy Working?, a new report from the 2025 Democracy for All Project survey, illustrates that there are strong democratic values that unite us. The survey, fielded in summer 2025, asked Americ...
kettering.org
New data show Americans agree on many democratic principles. This could be a clue that democratic backsliding is elite-driven. Research fellow Erica Frantz on the Kettering-Gallup Democracy for All Project survey data. kettering.org/what-unites-...
Reposted by Derek Barker
"The emerging order is one in which Putin, Xi, and Trump each get to do whatever they want in their respective zones: a grand bargain among the powerful at the expense of everyone else." hegemon.substack.com/p/venezuela-...
Venezuela Is a Gift to Putin
and a harbinger of more Russian aggression in Europe
hegemon.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:45 PM
"The emerging order is one in which Putin, Xi, and Trump each get to do whatever they want in their respective zones: a grand bargain among the powerful at the expense of everyone else." hegemon.substack.com/p/venezuela-...
Reposted by Derek Barker
January 4, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Derek Barker
Reposted by Derek Barker
Reposted by Derek Barker
I am horrified that the United States continues to set precedent for China to take unilateral action against Taiwan.
It isn’t 疑美論, it is 怕美論.
It isn’t 疑美論, it is 怕美論.
January 3, 2026 at 1:57 PM
I am horrified that the United States continues to set precedent for China to take unilateral action against Taiwan.
It isn’t 疑美論, it is 怕美論.
It isn’t 疑美論, it is 怕美論.
Anyone else getting propaganda in their Facebook feed?
January 3, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Anyone else getting propaganda in their Facebook feed?
Reposted by Derek Barker
It's a mystery as to what happened to her.
January 3, 2026 at 8:40 PM
It's a mystery as to what happened to her.
Is the deal that Putin gets Ukraine, Trump gets Venezuela?
January 3, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Is the deal that Putin gets Ukraine, Trump gets Venezuela?
Reposted by Derek Barker
It’s 2026. This current Era feels like the most unstable period I’ve experienced. We’re dealing with disruptive technologies that are running out way ahead of regulations and the culture’s ability to handle them. Know nothing populism is rampant. Yet, I’m pretty hopeful despite the chaos. 1/x
January 1, 2026 at 7:31 PM
It’s 2026. This current Era feels like the most unstable period I’ve experienced. We’re dealing with disruptive technologies that are running out way ahead of regulations and the culture’s ability to handle them. Know nothing populism is rampant. Yet, I’m pretty hopeful despite the chaos. 1/x
Annual stock market returns are in. Apparently current policies have made tech billionaires and international stocks great, again:
US Tech Stocks +21.8%
Int'l Developed Mkts +30.6%
Emerging Mkts +26%
S&P500 excl. Tech +15.3%
US Tech Stocks +21.8%
Int'l Developed Mkts +30.6%
Emerging Mkts +26%
S&P500 excl. Tech +15.3%
January 2, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Annual stock market returns are in. Apparently current policies have made tech billionaires and international stocks great, again:
US Tech Stocks +21.8%
Int'l Developed Mkts +30.6%
Emerging Mkts +26%
S&P500 excl. Tech +15.3%
US Tech Stocks +21.8%
Int'l Developed Mkts +30.6%
Emerging Mkts +26%
S&P500 excl. Tech +15.3%
Reposted by Derek Barker
Fox News sometimes fact checks Trump. Lisa Boothe said the U.S. has appropriated $200 billion in aid for Ukraine. Trump has said $200 - 350 billion. He has also underestimated the amount the EU has given Ukraine. The EU has given MORE to Ukraine than the U.S. RECEIPTS!
January 2, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Fox News sometimes fact checks Trump. Lisa Boothe said the U.S. has appropriated $200 billion in aid for Ukraine. Trump has said $200 - 350 billion. He has also underestimated the amount the EU has given Ukraine. The EU has given MORE to Ukraine than the U.S. RECEIPTS!
Nice to have time for some recreational reading
December 27, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Nice to have time for some recreational reading
Reposted by Derek Barker
J. D. Vance has "clearly made the calculation that anti-Semites are part of the Republican Party’s base, and he can’t afford to shunt them to the side as he plots his own presidential bid," Franklin Foer argues. theatln.tc/aaUENxUw
December 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
J. D. Vance has "clearly made the calculation that anti-Semites are part of the Republican Party’s base, and he can’t afford to shunt them to the side as he plots his own presidential bid," Franklin Foer argues. theatln.tc/aaUENxUw
What Carol of the Bells has to do with Ukrainian independence www.politico.eu/article/russ...
This city shaped a classic Christmas carol. Now Russia has destroyed it.
Meet the history and politics of a world-famous Christmas song that started as Kyiv’s political message to the world a century ago. It sends the same message today.
www.politico.eu
December 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
What Carol of the Bells has to do with Ukrainian independence www.politico.eu/article/russ...
When wages are stagnating and people are upset about inflation, the playbook says go after trans kids. This part is especially horrifyibg. www.erininthemorning.com/p/nationwide...
December 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
When wages are stagnating and people are upset about inflation, the playbook says go after trans kids. This part is especially horrifyibg. www.erininthemorning.com/p/nationwide...
Excellent point. Nationalist conservatism is really more about combating global liberalism than globalization per se.
The anti-globalists have a globalist program of their own: advancing far-right populism around the world.
www.theunpopulist.ne...
www.theunpopulist.ne...
December 17, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Excellent point. Nationalist conservatism is really more about combating global liberalism than globalization per se.
Highlights from our podcast, The Context. Thanks to all the guests who shared their expertise and insights on how to fight for democracy in 2025.
Seven ways to stay engaged in the fight against rising authoritarianism.
Throughout this year, guests on #TheContext shared practical steps anyone can use to stay informed, take action, and strengthen our democracy. Here are some of the insights that stayed with us.
Throughout this year, guests on #TheContext shared practical steps anyone can use to stay informed, take action, and strengthen our democracy. Here are some of the insights that stayed with us.
December 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Highlights from our podcast, The Context. Thanks to all the guests who shared their expertise and insights on how to fight for democracy in 2025.
Reposted by Derek Barker
Keep pushing back against #authoritarianism in 2026! Check out insights from our Chief Organizer @mariajstephan.bsky.social and others leading the movement for #democracy.
Seven ways to stay engaged in the fight against rising authoritarianism.
Throughout this year, guests on #TheContext shared practical steps anyone can use to stay informed, take action, and strengthen our democracy. Here are some of the insights that stayed with us.
Throughout this year, guests on #TheContext shared practical steps anyone can use to stay informed, take action, and strengthen our democracy. Here are some of the insights that stayed with us.
December 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Keep pushing back against #authoritarianism in 2026! Check out insights from our Chief Organizer @mariajstephan.bsky.social and others leading the movement for #democracy.
Reposted by Derek Barker
I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.
"Yglesias claims to think “rights are good,” but would have us ignore how neutral rules can be used to deny people their rights. Earlier this month, the Trump Department of Justice issued a memo that follows from Yglesias’s reasoning" www.liberalcurrents.com/a-tent-big-e...
A Tent Big Enough for Bigots but Too Small for Critical Race Theory
Like so many of critical race theory's detractors, Matthew Yglesias fails to engage with the actual scholarship.
www.liberalcurrents.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.
How did I miss day 365? Over one straight year of daily protest for democracy and against Russian imperialism
This banned (pavement) protest looks pretty alive to me.
Day 380 of #GeorgiaProtests
📷 @rusudandjakeli.bsky.social
Day 380 of #GeorgiaProtests
📷 @rusudandjakeli.bsky.social
December 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
How did I miss day 365? Over one straight year of daily protest for democracy and against Russian imperialism
Reposted by Derek Barker
Today Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili's handyman and Georgian Dream's self-proclaimed PM Irakli Kobakhidze posed with Vladimir Putin at the International Forum Peace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Georgian diplomacy and foreign policy continue to reach new lows, but today’s appearance goes even further.
December 12, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Today Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili's handyman and Georgian Dream's self-proclaimed PM Irakli Kobakhidze posed with Vladimir Putin at the International Forum Peace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Georgian diplomacy and foreign policy continue to reach new lows, but today’s appearance goes even further.
New data show Americans agree on many democratic principles. This could be a clue that democratic backsliding is elite-driven. Research fellow Erica Frantz on the Kettering-Gallup Democracy for All Project survey data. kettering.org/what-unites-...
What Unites Us: Insights from the 2025 Democracy for All Project Survey
Is Democracy Working?, a new report from the 2025 Democracy for All Project survey, illustrates that there are strong democratic values that unite us. The survey, fielded in summer 2025, asked Americ...
kettering.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
New data show Americans agree on many democratic principles. This could be a clue that democratic backsliding is elite-driven. Research fellow Erica Frantz on the Kettering-Gallup Democracy for All Project survey data. kettering.org/what-unites-...
Reposted by Derek Barker
I got around to starting this yesterday afternoon and have hardly been able to put it down
December 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I got around to starting this yesterday afternoon and have hardly been able to put it down
It's not every day a hall of fame NBA star has a provocative take on your democracy survey research. Kareem's take on the Kettering-Gallup Democracy For All Project results: kareem.substack.com/p/almost-hal...
Almost Half of Americans Think Democracy in U.S. Is Failing & Trump's War on Nurses
November 28, 2025
kareem.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
It's not every day a hall of fame NBA star has a provocative take on your democracy survey research. Kareem's take on the Kettering-Gallup Democracy For All Project results: kareem.substack.com/p/almost-hal...