Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

Is it possible, in the complex modern world, to have a government ‘by the people’? Does, for example, digital technology help us to bring the reality closer to the ideal? Or does it actually make the ideal unattainable?

The volume brings together …

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 …

This edited volume revolves around two sets of questions. First, what do the 2019 European elections suggest about the extent to which the mainstream parties of the left are attempting to deal with their decline through an increased, common …

Forecasts of the death of democracy are often heard and the United Kingdom is on the death watch list. This book challenges such a gloomy view by carefully examining the health of the British body politic from Tony Blair’s time in Downing Street …

This book provides the analytical framework for understanding the relationship between media scandals, executive accountability and the crisis of democracy. The empirical findings are based on an original database of 6000 media allegations and …

This book develops a new theoretical framework for studying the interaction between political parties, the news media and citizens. The model addresses how political actors develop and push different arguments in a debate, how the news media …

This edited volume explores the relationship between constitutionalism and populism in the Italian context. Italian populism is of interest to comparative lawyers for many reasons. Firstly, the country has a long-lasting tradition of …

In undemocratic settings, where modes of political participation and interest mediation are severely limited, protest may become a major form of political action. When and why does popular upsurge occur in such a setting? What form does it take …

This book addresses some of the most pressing questions of our time: Is democracy threatened by globalisation? Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies? Is the welfare state in individual countries under pressure from global …

This book deals with post-Cold War processes of autocratization, that is, regime change towards autocracy. While these processes are growing in number and frequency, autocratization remains a relatively understudied phenomenon, especially its most …

This book examines the connection between two major developments in the world: state-formation and democratization. Since 1946, the number of states has increased from 66 to almost 200 independent states, but our knowledge of these state-formation …

This book shows that democratization in sub-Saharan Africa can be successful, even if the government remains dominated by one major political party. If an institutionalized and strong opposition party – even when too weak to take power – …

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of the timely question of the politicization of European integration. It shows how this issue's complex linkages with traditional political divides pose a tough challenge to politicians and lead to bitter fr