Dark Money, Post Truth Politics and the Struggle for US Democracy

Keywords: Dark Money, Post-Truth, Big Lie, Democracy, Voting, Social Media
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Building on the insights of political scientists, media scholars, and broader writings about this political moment, I argue that the social sciences in general, but Geography specifically, needs to engage in a more robust and sustained study of democracy and democratic practice. This work needs to move beyond the theoretical construct of democracy or debates about how we define democracy to focus instead on democratic governance in nation-states where the operation of representative government is a taken-for-granted construct. A focus by geographers on how democracy is operationalized within the global north and specifically in Western nations that have long prided themselves as beacons of democracy is of vital importance in this political moment where right-wing populism threatens the structure of democratic governance in the United States and other Western nations.