Democracy in Decline? - A Journal of Democracy Book

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; Includes bibliographical references and index.; For almost a decade, Freedom House's annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. While some analysts draw upon this evidence to argue that the world has entered a democratic recession, others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing instead democracy's success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Discussion of this question has moved beyond disputes about how many countries should be classified as democratic to embrace a host of wider concerns about the health of democracy: the poor economic and political performance of advanced democracies, the new self-confidence and assertiveness of a number of leading authoritarian countries, and a geopolitical weakening of democracies relative to these resurgent authoritarians. In Democracy in Decline?, eight of the world's leading public intellectuals and scholars of democracy--Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Philippe C. Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way, Thomas Carothers, and editors Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner--explore these concerns and offer competing viewpoints about the state of democracy today. This short collection of essays is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the latest thinking on one of the most critical questions of our era--; Provided by publisher.; Is Democracy in Decline? is a short book that takes up the fascinating question on whether this once-revolutionary form of government--the bedrock of Western liberalism--is fast disappearing. Has the growth of corporate capitalism, mass economic inequality, and endemic corruption reversed the spread of democracy worldwide? In this incisive collection, leading thinkers address this disturbing and critically important issue. Published as part of the National Endowment for Democracy's 25th anniversary--and drawn from articles forthcoming in the Journal of Democracy--this collection includes seven essays from a stellar group of democracy scholars: Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Thomas Carothers, Marc Plattner, Larry Diamond, Philippe Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Ivan Krastev, and Lucan Way. Written in a thought-provoking style from seven different perspectives, this book provides an eye-opening look at how the very foundation of Western political culture may be imperiled--; Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, where he directs the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Marc F. Plattner is the vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Plattner and Diamond are founding coeditors of the " Journal of Democracy" and co-chairs of the Research Council of the International Forum for Democratic Studies. Brief Description: "For almost a decade, Freedom House's annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. While some analysts draw upon this evidence to argue that the world has entered a "democratic recession," others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing instead democracy's success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Discussion of this question has moved beyond disputes about how many countries should be classified as democratic to embrace a host of wider concerns about the health of democracy: the poor economic and political performance of advanced democracies, the new self-confidence and assertiveness of a number of leading authoritarian countries, and a geopolitical weakening of democracies relative to these resurgent authoritarians. In Democracy in Decline?, eight of the world's leading public intellectuals and scholars of democracy--Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Philippe C. Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way, Thomas Carothers, and editors Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner--explore these concerns and offer competing viewpoints about the state of democracy today. This short collection of essays is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the latest thinking on one of the most critical questions of our era"--Publisher Marketing: For almost a decade, Freedom House's annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. While some analysts draw upon this evidence to argue that the world has entered a "democratic recession," others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing instead democracy's success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Discussion of this question has moved beyond disputes about how many countries should be classified as democratic to embrace a host of wider concerns about the health of democracy: the poor economic and political performance of advanced democracies, the new self-confidence and assertiveness of a number of leading authoritarian countries, and a geopolitical weakening of democracies relative to these resurgent authoritarians. In "Democracy in Decline?," eight of the world's leading public intellectuals and scholars of democracy--Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Philippe C. Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way, Thomas Carothers, and editors Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner--explore these concerns and offer competing viewpoints about the state of democracy today. This short collection of essays is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the latest thinking on one of the most critical questions of our era.

Contributor Bio:  Diamond, Larry "Larry Diamond" is the author of "Squandered Victory" and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He has served as the co-editor of the widely respected "Journal of Democracy" since its founding in 1990. He lives in Stanford, California. Contributor Bio:  Plattner, Marc F Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute of War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. Marc F. Plattner is vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. They serve as codirectors of the International Forum for Democratic Studies and coeditors of the Journal of Democracy, as well as of other collections of essays available from Johns Hopkins, including The Global Divergence of Democracies, Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, and Democracy after Communism. Contributor Bio:  Rice, Condoleezza Condoleezza Rice is Provost and Professor of Political Science, Stanford University.