This book provides a realistic perspective of where democracy stands in the world. It is not a pretty picture.
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) May 24, 2017
In a recent interview with Roland Rich, the author of our pivotal new book Democracy in Crisis: Why, Where, How to Respond, Rich poignantly stated, “For some 15 years, I was a professional optimist. As head of the Australian and then the United Nations democracy promotion bodies, I had to project confidence and progress. Now that I am free of these responsibilities, this book provides a far more realistic perspective of where democracy stands in the world. It is not a pretty picture.”
Not pretty indeed. After the hope engendered in recent decades, democracies around the world are beleaguered with threats from multiple sources. What are these threats? Where did they come from? And how can the challenges to democratic governance best be overcome? Grappling with these questions, Rich interprets the danger signs that abound in the United States and Europe, in Asia and the Arab World, in Africa and Latin America, and offers innovative strategies for turning the tide.
Roland Rich served as an Australian diplomat, then as director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University, and then as executive head of the UN Democracy Fund before joining the faculty of the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University.
“An extremely eloquently, extraordinarily well written, and impressively informed piece of work. Rich provides a highly readable and accessible run-through of all the main challenges with which democracy is currently beset.” —Richard Youngs, Carnegie Europe
“An incisive and honest analysis of democracy trends around the world, a healthy and constructive critique of the business of democracy and development assistance, and some useful ideas for addressing these daunting deficits.” —Theodore Piccone, Brookings Institution
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Lynne Rienner Publishers, celebrating 33 years of independent publishing, is known for bringing high quality, cutting-edge books in politics and the social sciences to the general market. Democracy in Crisis is the second book in LRP’s Points of View series, which aims to elevate the discussion of contemporary issues with reasoned arguments and lively writing bent on encouraging a problem-solving consensus.
Publication date: August 2017 • 231 pages • ISBN: 978-1-62637-671-7 cloth $32.50 • Series: Points of View