Unless democracy is critically defined, dictators can pose as democrats and the oppressed can see despotism as the answer to their prayers. Democracy, however, will not automatically solve the world’s problems. It is contentious and unfair, even as it keeps tyrants at bay. In Democracy, Svend-Erik Skaaning defines democracy, charts its rise, revival, and resurgence across history and nations, and discusses when democracy has made a difference—and when and why it has failed.
