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In Democratic Crossroads, Richard Youngs argues that there are three crises are altering the balance between democratic and authoritarian dynamics around the world: climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic legacy, and geopolitical conflict. Yet while they add to the strains on democracy, they are also awakening a momentum of democratic resilience and renewal. Youngs argues that without stronger commitments to uphold and improve democratic norms and practices, democracy may not weather these challenges. In a moment of pivotal change, this book highlights key factors that will determine democracy's fortunes in the future.
List of contents
- Foreword
- Chapter One: Introduction
- Chapter Two: Democracy's Altered Context
- Chapter Three: Climate Crisis and Democracy
- Chapter Four: Snapshot: Global Climate Assembly
- Chapter Five: Covid-19 and Post-neoliberalism
- Chapter Six: Snapshot: The EU's New Political Economy
- Chapter Seven: The New Geopolitics and War on Ukraine
- Chapter Eight: Snapshot: Ukraine's Civic Resilience
- Chapter Nine: Conclusion
- Index
About the author
Richard Youngs is Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and professor of international relations at the University of Warwick. He was previously director of the Fride think-tank in Madrid and senior analyst at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is co-founder of the European Democracy Hub and author of fifteen previous books, including Civic Activism Unleashed (Oxford 2019).
Summary
After more than a decade of democratic regression, three major crises have acted to reshape global politics in recent years: climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic legacy, and geopolitical conflict. In Democratic Crossroads, Richard Youngs argues these crises are altering the balance between democratic and authoritarian dynamics around the world. Yet while they add to the strains on democracy, they are also awakening a momentum of democratic resilience and renewal. He argues that to deal with the era's momentous challenges, democratic politics need a major boost and reboot. Without stronger commitments to uphold and improve democratic norms and practices, democracy may not weather these challenges. As Youngs shows, far-reaching democratic innovation that gives citizens effective influence over epoch-defining matters will help ensure that democratic values are more vigorously defended. In a moment of pivotal change, this book explains how democracies can retain their resiliency and highlights the key factors that will determine democracy's fortunes in the future.
Additional text
A trumpet blast against resignation and pessimism: a spirited defence of a new democratic politics of curbing ecological destruction, social injustice, and disastrous wars.
