Democracy under Pressure

This book identifies the main factors shaping the fortunes of democracy globally. Why do some democracies in the same region and presumably subject to similar global influences remain stable while others regress? This is the question guiding all the authors of this edited book. In the search for answers, they examine 16 democracies in paired and tripled comparisons in sub-Saharan Africa, North and Latin America, East Asia, Western and Central Europe, along with two polar cases. Insights from the perspectives of history, political science, economics and international relations are offered along with a sketch of possible future scenarios. Combining approaches anchored in the analytical tradition with empirical case studies and given the broad range of topics, this book is bound to be of interest not only to students and practitioners of democracy but also to the broader academic and general readership.

Identifies the main factors shaping the fortunes of democracy globally Offers diverse disciplinary perspectives combining broad historically based studies and analyses Is a follow up study to the book "Democracy under Threat: A Crisis of Legitimacy" (Palgrave, 2019)

Autorentext

Ursula van Beek is the founder Director of the former Transformation Research Unit (TRU) and its successor CREDO, the Centre for the Study of Democracy, at the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Inhalt

1. Quo Vadis Democracy? Editor's Introduction.- 2. From the End of History to the End of the World? Global Challenges to Democracy.- 3. Economic and Political Implications of Technological Advances.- 4. Back to the Future: The Rise of Nationalist Populism.- 5. Global and Regional Developments at the Macro- and Micro-Levels.- 6. South Africa and Kenya.- 7. United States - Canada.- 8. Argentina-Chile-Uruguay.- 9. South Korea-Taiwan - The Philippines.- 10. Germany-Italy.- 11. Poland-Estonia.- 12. Democratic Resilience in Sweden.- 13. Varieties of Turkish Democracy: A Progress in Reverse?.- 14. Cross-Area Finding: Patterns and Prospects.- 15. Empirical Assessments: The Return of History.- 16. Looking Ahead: Democracy and Modernity.