We examine the concept, theory, causes, and consequences of political inequality across nations and time.
Essays and News on Political Inequality
PhD Workshop: New Voices in Social Movements and Protest
The three-day English-language international event, “Empirical Research on Social Movements and Protest: New Voices” will take place December 3, 4, 5, 2025 at the Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, and feature PhD student research on their projects in political sociology. Major events around the world over the last two decades —…
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Empirical Research on Protests and Social Movements in Central and Eastern Europe: Conference 2025
Empirical Research on Protests and Social Movements in Central and Eastern Europe: State of the Art Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN)72 Nowy Swiat, Warsaw, Poland December 4 – 5, 2025 About Major events in Europe over the last two decades — financial crises, rising populism, EU skepticism, pandemic, and…
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Every protest is an imagined future
Protests often emerge from a mix of grievance and hope – i.e., dissatisfaction with the present with an aim to change it for the better. Whereas street protests are commonly understood as physical, dynamic, interactive, and collective expressions of objection and dissent, less common is the idea that this form of collective action is future-oriented;…
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Prefiguration, or “Be the Change”
Prefiguration is the future-oriented construction of political alternatives during protest and movement-building, where activists reflect their political goals and values within the processes of their movements. This post is a summary of the well-cited article on the topic by Luke Yates, “Prefigurative politics and social movement strategy: The roles of prefiguration in the reproduction, mobilisation…
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NCN Grant on Pandemic Protests in Poland: Activities in 2024
We, the research team funded by the National Science Centre (NCN), Poland (2021/43/B/HS6/01155) grant entitled “The Construction of Post-Pandemic Society: Covid-19 Street Protest in Poland,” presented several papers, and published a couple of articles and a book review, in 2024. Published articles in 2024 Dubrow, Joshua K., Anna Radiukiewicz, and Alan Żukowski. “Government justification of…
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NCN Grant on Pandemic Protests in Poland: Presentation Abstracts in 2023
We, the research team funded by the National Science Centre (NCN), Poland (2021/43/B/HS6/01155) grant entitled “The Construction of Post-Pandemic Society: Covid-19 Street Protest in Poland,” presented three papers in 2023. One of them was “Reconstructions of the Covid-19 Protests in Poland: Using Text, Pictures, and Video Data to Derive Visions of Social Change” at WZB…
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Reconstructing Protests with Text and A/V: Conference Abstract
We presented a paper called, “Reconstructions of the Covid-19 Protests in Poland: Using Text, Pictures, and Video Data to Derive Visions of Social Change.” See also: NCN Grant on Pandemic Protests in Poland: Presentation Abstracts in 2023 This presentation and the paper we submitted for the conference was funded by the National Science Centre (NCN),…
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Noam Chomsky on Money in Politics
Noam Chomsky is a highly influential public intellectual known for his incisive social criticism and political activism. In this post, we present Chomsky’s critique of wealth and power concentration, the influence of neoliberalism, and the resultant detrimental impact on democracy. See also About Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky, born in 1928, is a renowned American public…
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Joseph Stiglitz: Democracy, Justice, and Inequality
Why is inequality bad for democracy and justice? What can be done about it? In this post, we present the works of Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate, economist, and professor at Columbia University. Focusing on three of his key books, “The Price of Inequality,” “The Great Divide,” and “People, Power, and Profits,” we present Stiglitz’s…
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Jane Mayer: Dark Money in Politics
How does “money in politics” work? Is there a plan by some billionaires to seed the political landscape with “dark money”? In this post, we present the research of investigative journalist Jane Mayer who exposed the immense influence of the Koch brothers on American politics. The Koch brothers are wealthy libertarians who have used their…
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Naomi Klein on Disaster Capitalism and Political Change
Why does the news seem overwhelming? How can we get past the “shock” and change the world for the better? In this post, we present the ideas of Naomi Klein, a renowned author and activist whose work has made a significant impact on discussions surrounding social change. Klein’s thoughts and theories help us understand the…
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President Obama on Money in Politics
The influence of money in politics continues to undermine American democracy. Despite former President Obama’s well-intentioned efforts to tackle this pervasive problem, his administration’s attempts fell short. We explore Obama’s fight against the corrupting power of money in politics, including the various initiatives he championed and the obstacles he faced, such as the Citizens United…
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Piketty: Policy, Institutions, and a Brief History of Equality
Does equality rise? What is the role of policy, institutions, and collective mobilization for increasing equality? This post delves into the work of French economist Thomas Piketty, whose influential books examine wealth and income inequality. Piketty highlights the long-term trend towards greater political, economic, and social equality, driven by political mobilizations, social struggles, and institutional…
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Ray Dalio on Power, Money, and Societal Collapse
What is the relationship between money, power, and the collapse of society? This blog post presents the ideas of Ray Dalio, billionaire investor and author of “Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail.” Dalio explores his ideas about a Big Cycle and international relations, highlighting the interplay of how…
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Effects of Political Inequality on Society
Inequality — economic, political, social — is at the heart of society’s troubles. Political inequality is a particular kind and it has many definitions. In the main, it refers to structured differences in influence and outcomes of political processes. What are the effects of political inequality on society? Here we explore the consequences of political…
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Political Inequality: A blog since 2010 
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