The New Despotism

The New Despotism

Published

April 2020

Publishers

UK
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Turkey
Iletisim
 

A disturbing in-depth exposé of the antidemocratic practices of despotic governments now sweeping the world.

One day they’ll be like us. That was once the West’s complacent and self-regarding assumption about countries emerging from poverty, imperial rule, or communism. But many have hardened into something very different from liberal democracy: what the eminent political thinker John Keane describes as a new form of despotism. And one day, he warns, we may be more like them.

Drawing on extensive travels, interviews, and a lifetime of thinking about democracy and its enemies, Keane shows how governments from Russia and China through Central Asia to the Middle East and Europe have mastered a formidable combination of political tools that threaten the established ideals and practices of power-sharing democracy.

Praise for John Keane:

In this comprehensive history, Keane looks at how democracy was born, its many incarnations and how it may perish.
The Times

Keane’s broad sweep, wealth of detailed knowledge, shrewd insights and fluent, lively prose make it a must-read for scholars and citizens alike.
Publishers Weekly

A remarkable book.
Observer