Books like The Decline and Rise of Democracy — picked by fans

I loved this book because it made a distant historical episode feel extraordinarily human.

I found myself fascinated by the small group of impoverished craftsmen who, in 1820, convinced themselves that they could bring down the British government. What stayed with me was not simply what they tried to do, but who they were, what motivated them, and how they came to believe that revolution was possible.

I am also full of admiration for the historical detective work behind the book. It reconstructs these lives from tiny fragments of surviving evidence, yet never feels dry or academic. I found it a genuine page-turner.

I loved Making Waves because it changed the way I think about democratization.

I was particularly struck by the story of the Danish king in 1848, watching revolution spread from France through the German states and deciding that the safest response was to concede power and introduce representative democracy.

Weyland’s many examples from Europe and Latin America made me see much more clearly how political ideas, institutional blueprints, and fears of revolution travel across borders. I found the argument both persuasive and memorable.

More than most books on democracy, it convinced me that I cannot understand political change by looking at countries in isolation.

I admire this book partly because I disagree with its central hypothesis.

Congleton argues that democracy emerged through a sequence of consensual constitutional bargains between kings and their parliamentary opponents, with the threat of violence playing little role. I find that claim provocative rather than convincing, and that is precisely what makes the book so rewarding.

I especially like the way it combines a clear theoretical framework with detailed historical case studies that put real institutional flesh on the theoretical bones. The cases are illuminating, deeply researched, and written by an author with an exceptional command of constitutional history.

It is a book I keep returning to, even when I want to argue with it.

I love Captain Swing because it showed me just how much historical detective work can reveal about protest, riots, and revolutionary threat.

Not because of its strongly Marxist framing—which it certainly has—or because of its classical `Hobsbawmian’ style, but because Hobsbawm and Rudé undertook an extraordinary effort to locate and document thousands of disturbances across England during the Swing riots of 1830–31, Britain’s largest rural uprising. I am fascinated by the way they used this evidence to reconstruct what happened and why.

I still remember accidentally stumbling across the book on a dusty library shelf five stories underground and discovering the extraordinary wealth of information behind this engaging piece of historical research.

I have a hard time keeping track of all the main events of Japanese history, and among the many (MANY) tomes I have read, this one gets the balance just right without being overwhelming.

It gave me a good general overview that now allows me to explain the most important points of the country’s history to others and wasn’t boring or overly academic. 

Anne Applebaum's book is an engaging meld of reportage and personal anecdotes, which explores why so many people have turned towards authoritarianism and illiberal populism. With a particular focus on Poland, Hungary, and the United States, Applebaum illustrates how populist movements exploit societal fears and divisions to gain and consolidate power.

She argues that populism's appeal lies in its simplistic answers to complex problems and its promise of a return to a mythical, idealized past. For Applebaum, those who become populists aren’t just strangers—they’re her former friends, and she wrestles with the question of why people she once admired have come to support anti-democratic, polarising, and authoritarian governments.

Curious about what democratic governments can do? Check out Applebaum's 2024 book, Autocracy, Inc., The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World.

Aristotle offers a classic statement and argument for politics as an extension of ethics. For people to live well and strive for good things, they need to live in a political community. How politics is done has a direct impact on the quality of people’s lives.

I am always inspired by Aristotle’s recognition of how peaceful discussions over the nature of justice constitute the central feature of political life and how good politics necessarily implies reciprocity and efforts to advance the well-being of all citizens.

For anyone interested in populism, this book is a must. It is one of the classic books for understanding the nature of populism, its causes, its worldwide dynamic, and its effects on politics in various contexts.

One of the most cited books on the topic, it also introduces the classic definition of populism as an ideology grounded in a Manichean worldview that divides society into two antagonistic camps: the "pure people" and the "corrupt elites."

A perfect book for anybody looking for a short and accessible yet very comprehensive introduction to the subject of populism.

What I particularly liked was how engaging the writing was (not a given with political scientists!) and how it offered key insights on real-world political developments, from Trump to Brexit. I found it an ideal starting point for learning more about populism and it greatly helped my own understanding of the concept. 

Going beyond any one political revolution, this book traces an underlying epistemological convulsion that facilitated the formation of modern democracy in the late eighteenth century.

Common sense is supposed to defy historical analysis; we assume everyone has it, always has had it, and always will. But I love this book because it completely undoes these assumptions; Rosenfeld shows how the concept of common sense was a historical creation of the long eighteenth century.

Perhaps epitomized by Thomas Paine’s famous 1776 pamphlet, common sense was more than an idea; it became a style of politics and justification for free speech and popular sovereignty. Common sense became not only a precondition for democratic politics but a precursor of populism.