Why Democracies Fail

Author : Steven Levitsky,Daniel Ziblatt
Publisher : Crown
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2019-01-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781524762940

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How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky,Daniel Ziblatt Pdf

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE • SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Time • Foreign Affairs • WBUR • Paste Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one. Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die—and how ours can be saved. Praise for How Democracies Die “What we desperately need is a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy studies, offer just that.”—The Washington Post “Where Levitsky and Ziblatt make their mark is in weaving together political science and historical analysis of both domestic and international democratic crises; in doing so, they expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.”—Ezra Klein, Vox “If you only read one book for the rest of the year, read How Democracies Die. . . .This is not a book for just Democrats or Republicans. It is a book for all Americans. It is nonpartisan. It is fact based. It is deeply rooted in history. . . . The best commentary on our politics, no contest.”—Michael Morrell, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (via Twitter) “A smart and deeply informed book about the ways in which democracy is being undermined in dozens of countries around the world, and in ways that are perfectly legal.”—Fareed Zakaria, CNN

Author : Francis Fukuyama,Larry Diamond,Marc F. Plattner
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2012-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781421405704

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Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy by Francis Fukuyama,Larry Diamond,Marc F. Plattner Pdf

The rise of populism in new democracies, especially in Latin America, has brought renewed urgency to the question of how liberal democracy deals with issues of poverty and inequality. Citizens who feel that democracy failed to improve their economic condition are often vulnerable to the appeal of political leaders with authoritarian tendencies. To counteract this trend, liberal democracies must establish policies that will reduce socioeconomic disparities without violating liberal principles, interfering with economic growth, or ignoring the consensus of the people. Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy addresses the complicated philosophical and moral issues surrounding the distribution of economic goods in free societies as well as the empirical relationships between democratization and trends in poverty and inequality. This volume also discusses the variety of welfare-state policies that have been adopted in different regions of the world. The book’s distinguished group of contributors provides a succinct synthesis of the scholarship on this topic. They address such broad issues as whether democracy promotes inequality, the socioeconomic factors that drive democratic failure, and the basic choices that societies must make as they decide how to deal with inequality. Chapters focus on particular regions or countries, examining how problems of poverty and inequality have been handled (or mishandled) by newer democracies in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy will prove vital reading for all students of world politics, political economy, and democracy’s global prospects. Contributors: Dan Banik, Nancy Bermeo, Dorothee Bohle, Nathan Converse, Alberto Díaz-Cayeros, Francis Fukuyama, Béla Greskovits, Stephan Haggard, Ethan B. Kapstein, Robert R. Kaufman, Taekyoon Kim, Huck-Ju Kwon, Jooha Lee, Peter Lewis, Beatriz Magaloni, Mitchell A. Orenstein, Marc F. Plattner, Charles Simkins, Alejandro Toledo, Ilcheong Yi

Author : Norman L. Stamps
Publisher : [Notre Dame, Ind.] University of Notre Dame Press
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1957
Category : Political Science
ISBN : UOM:39015002445891

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Why Democracies Fail by Norman L. Stamps Pdf

Author : Dambisa Moyo
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2018-04-24
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780465097470

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Edge of Chaos by Dambisa Moyo Pdf

From an internationally acclaimed economist, a provocative call to jump-start economic growth by aggressively overhauling liberal democracy Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds--from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards. In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.

Author : James Simpson,Juan Carmona
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 319 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2020-05-07
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781108487481

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Why Democracy Failed by James Simpson,Juan Carmona Pdf

Reveals how political change and economic development led to the collapse of democracy and the origins of the Spanish Civil War.

Author : Daron Acemoglu,James A. Robinson
Publisher : Currency
Page : 546 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2013-09-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780307719225

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Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu,James A. Robinson Pdf

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

Author : Jorrit de Jong,Gowher Rizvi
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2009-11-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780815701767

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The State of Access by Jorrit de Jong,Gowher Rizvi Pdf

This book documents a worrisome gap between principles and practice in democratic governance. The State of Access is a comparative, cross-disciplinary exploration of the ways in which democratic institutions fail or succeed to create the equal opportunities that they have promised to deliver to the people they serve. In theory, rules and regulations may formally guarantee access to democratic processes, public services, and justice. But reality routinely disappoints, for a number of reasons—exclusionary policymaking, insufficient attention to minorities, underfunded institutions, inflexible bureaucracies. The State of Access helps close the gap between the potential and performance in democratic governance.

Author : Niheer Dasandi,Matthew Taylor
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 239 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2018-10-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9780500774366

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Is Democracy Failing? by Niheer Dasandi,Matthew Taylor Pdf

Only four countries around the world do not currently define themselves as democracies. But many more do not fulfil the four basic requirements of democracy: free and fair elections, active participation of citizens in politics, protection of human rights, and the rule of law. Since 2015, far-right and populist politicians have been on the rise throughout the West. Is populism the new face of democracy? Is democracy simply the will of the people? Can any existing government claim to be truly democratic? This captivating, articulate volume explores and interrogates each form of democracy and questions whether they remain fit for purpose today.

Author : Yascha Mounk
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780593296820

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The Great Experiment by Yascha Mounk Pdf

One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer “[A] brave and necessary book . . . Anyone interested in the future of liberal democracy, in the US or anywhere else, should read this book.” —Anne Applebaum “A convincing, humane, and hopeful guide to the present and future by one of our foremost democratic thinkers.” —George Packer “A rare thing: [an] academic treatise . . . that may actually have influence in the arena of practical politics. . . . Passionate and personal.” —Joe Klein, New York Times Book Review From one of our sharpest and most important political thinkers, a brilliant big-picture vision of the greatest challenge of our time—how to bridge the bitter divides within diverse democracies enough for them to remain stable and functional Some democracies are highly homogeneous. Others have long maintained a brutal racial or religious hierarchy, with some groups dominating and exploiting others. Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal, treating members of many different ethnic or religious groups fairly. And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project in countries around the world. It is, Yascha Mounk argues, the greatest experiment of our time. Drawing on history, social psychology, and comparative politics, Mounk examines how diverse societies have long suffered from the ills of domination, fragmentation, or structured anarchy. So it is hardly surprising that most people are now deeply pessimistic that different groups might be able to integrate in harmony, celebrating their differences without essentializing them. But Mounk shows us that the past can offer crucial insights for how to do better in the future. There is real reason for hope. It is up to us and the institutions we build whether different groups will come to see each other as enemies or friends, as strangers or compatriots. To make diverse democracies endure, and even thrive, we need to create a world in which our ascriptive identities come to matter less—not because we ignore the injustices that still characterize the United States and so many other countries around the world, but because we have succeeded in addressing them. The Great Experiment is that rare book that offers both a profound understanding of an urgent problem and genuine hope for our human capacity to solve it. As Mounk contends, giving up on the prospects of building fair and thriving diverse democracies is simply not an option—and that is why we must strive to realize a more ambitious vision for the future of our societies.

Author : M. Chou
Publisher : Springer
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2013-04-23
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781137298690

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Theorising Democide by M. Chou Pdf

Beginning with the premise that democracies are often deeply implicated in their own downfall, The Theory of Democide challenges the conventional view of how and why democracies collapse by demonstrating that democratic collapse is often a direct result of the inherent logic of democracy itself.

Author : Jason Brennan
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2017-09-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781400888399

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Against Democracy by Jason Brennan Pdf

A bracingly provocative challenge to one of our most cherished ideas and institutions Most people believe democracy is a uniquely just form of government. They believe people have the right to an equal share of political power. And they believe that political participation is good for us—it empowers us, helps us get what we want, and tends to make us smarter, more virtuous, and more caring for one another. These are some of our most cherished ideas about democracy. But Jason Brennan says they are all wrong. In this trenchant book, Brennan argues that democracy should be judged by its results—and the results are not good enough. Just as defendants have a right to a fair trial, citizens have a right to competent government. But democracy is the rule of the ignorant and the irrational, and it all too often falls short. Furthermore, no one has a fundamental right to any share of political power, and exercising political power does most of us little good. On the contrary, a wide range of social science research shows that political participation and democratic deliberation actually tend to make people worse—more irrational, biased, and mean. Given this grim picture, Brennan argues that a new system of government—epistocracy, the rule of the knowledgeable—may be better than democracy, and that it's time to experiment and find out. A challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable, Against Democracy is essential reading for scholars and students of politics across the disciplines. Featuring a new preface that situates the book within the current political climate and discusses other alternatives beyond epistocracy, Against Democracy is a challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable.

Author : Paul Woodruff
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2006-03-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780195304541

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First Democracy by Paul Woodruff Pdf

This brilliant analysis of the nature of democracy draws on the hard-earned lessons of the ancient Greeks.

Author : Rob Reich
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2020-05-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780691202273

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Just Giving by Rob Reich Pdf

The troubling ethics and politics of philanthropy Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today’s democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society’s benefit, Just Giving shows how such generosity not only isn’t the unassailable good we think it to be but might also undermine democratic values. Big philanthropy is often an exercise of power, the conversion of private assets into public influence. And it is a form of power that is largely unaccountable and lavishly tax-advantaged. Philanthropy currently fails democracy, but Rob Reich argues that it can be redeemed. Just Giving investigates the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy and considers how giving might better support democratic values and promote justice.

Author : Robert D. Putnam,Robert Leonardi,Raffaella Y. Nanetti
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 1994-05-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 140082074X

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Making Democracy Work by Robert D. Putnam,Robert Leonardi,Raffaella Y. Nanetti Pdf

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity.

Author : Plammoottil V. Cherian
Publisher : Covenant Books, Inc.
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2023-02-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9798886440522

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Democracy in America: Is it in Peril? by Plammoottil V. Cherian Pdf

Democracy in the world is backsliding in many countries around the globe at the present time due to various reasons. Different nations may have their own particular reasons such as socioeconomic inequality, poverty, failure of checks and balances that may result in an abrupt military coup d'etat to change from democracy to tyranny. In nations where democracy failed, there were no tanks on the street. Constitution of the land remained, but elected leaders became autocrats, maintaining a veneer of democracy. America, being a nation with nearly 80 percent of Christians, has been the strongest democracy in the world who championed it as the model for the rest of the world. However, democracy in America appears to be in peril because of political bickering, partisan gridlock, and promulgation of falsities, misinformation, and faux faith by one political party. By introducing the foundational principles of democracy from the philosophical arguments of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the author shows how and why the cornerstone of democracy in America shows signs of crumbling. The book vividly explains: Politics without God will shatter the foundation of democracy. Present political system rejects the checks and balances laid by the founding fathers. The right wing has cultivated a spirit of untruth that spreads like a wildfire. Rejecting truth by political parties and leadership is a sign of strong delusion. There is a clear moral bankruptcy in the present political sphere of our nation. The brightness of democracy in America which Tocqueville praised has been tarnished. Hypocritic and dishonest leaders should not reign, lest the people be ensnared. American politicians must register their solemn oath in heaven to act in truth. No nation can be established in one day but can shatter in one day by a despot. America must realign with God to lead the nation in truth, justice, and freedom for all. Democracy turns to tyranny when a moral man becomes amoral. With biblical prophecies and instructions, the author shows that America faces a real threat to its democracy unless it resists tyrants with all their mind, soul, and strength, which is obedience to God who can anchor the nation on its solid foundation set by the Founding Fathers. Every citizen, political and judicial leaders of the nation, are the cupbearers and the watchmen of the nation.