When Elections Stop Having Consequences

Democratic order depends on more than holding elections. Losers must accept legitimate defeat; winners must accept that power is temporary and preserve the mechanisms by which they can later be removed.

In this episode, Lee Ellis examines the two-sided bargain behind democracy: the line between lawful challenge and revolutionary rejection, the ways victorious coalitions can rewrite the rules or insulate power from voters, and what happens when elected offices no longer determine what government does.