Bernd Reiter

Residents in Modipane, Botswana, attend a kgotla. Author supplied/Bernd Reiter

November 25, 2024

In a world where political polarization and disengagement are denting democracy, does Botswana’s ‘kgotla’ system hold the key?

Bernd Reiter, Texas Tech University

Botswana’s recent election saw a high level of voter turnout and resulted in a smooth transfer of power.

A Black man holds up a sign during a Reparations Task Force meeting in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 22, 2022. Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

June 1, 2023

Reparations over formerly enslaved people has a long history: 4 essential reads on why the idea remains unresolved

Howard Manly, The Conversation

Former enslaved persons have never received a dime for their labor. Nor have their descendants received reparations for the legacy of slavery. Should the descendants be paid? By whom and how much?

Is the voting booth a stumbling block? AP Photo/John Minchillo

October 22, 2019

Voting could be the problem with democracy

Bernd Reiter, University of South Florida

Randomly selecting citizens to take turns governing offers the promise of reinvigorating struggling democracies, making them more responsive to citizen needs and preferences.

Slavery is not so far removed. Anderson and Minerva Edwards met in the 1860s as enslaved laborers in Texas, had 16 children and lived into their 90s in a cabin a few miles from the plantations they once worked. They are photographed here in 1937. U.S. Library of Congress

August 2, 2019

If Germany atoned for the Holocaust, the US can pay reparations for slavery

Bernd Reiter, University of South Florida

Old injustices don’t simply disappear with time – they tear a nation apart.

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