Source: Getty
commentary

A Good Democracy Is Hard to Find

Sheri Berman’s substantial new history of democracy in Europe offers useful insights on the question of why democracy sometimes succeeds but often does not. Yet Western democracies are now experiencing tectonic shifts, and history offers only a limited guide to understanding their future.

published by
Foreign Affairs
 on April 22, 2019

Source: Foreign Affairs

Democracy’s global travails continue to mount. What looked as recently as a decade ago to be real democratic progress in countries as diverse as Brazil, Hungary, South Africa, and Turkey has been either reversed by illiberal strongmen or unsettled by revelations of systemic corruption. Some of the most stirring recent political openings, such as those in Egypt and Myanmar, have slammed shut. The United States and several long-standing democracies in western Europe are struggling with serious democratic challenges, especially the rise of illiberal populist forces. And the two most significant nondemocratic powers, China and Russia, are strutting on the global stage.

Read Full Text

This book review was originally published in the May/June edition of Foreign Affairs. 

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.