Why read The Decline and Rise of Democracy?

Book cover of The Decline and Rise of Democracy

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"One of the most important books on political regimes written in a generation."-Steven Levitsky, New York Times-bestselling author of How Democracies Die

A new understanding of how and why early democracy took hold, how modern democracy evolved, and what this history teaches us about the future

Historical accounts of democracy's…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Decline and Rise of Democracy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Toke S. Aidt

Author

I loved this book for the sheer breadth of its perspective.

I found it exhilarating to see democratic ideas and practices placed in a history stretching back thousands of years and ranging across China, the Americas, Europe, and beyond. For me, it was a genuine eye-opener.

It reminded me how easy it is to treat the rise and fall of democratic institutions in Western Europe since the French Revolution as the central story, when in fact it is only one small part of a much larger global history.

I came away from the book thinking about democracy in a completely…

From Toke's list on The best books about why rulers give up power and democratize.