Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe, Sheri Berman
Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe, Sheri Berman
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Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe
From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day

Author: Sheri Berman

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 21 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/23/2021


Synopsis

At the end of the twentieth century, many believed the story of European political development had come to an end. Modern democracy began in Europe, but for hundreds of years it competed with various forms of dictatorship. Now, though, the entire continent was in the democratic camp for the first time in history. But within a decade, this story had already begun to unravel. Some of the continent's newer democracies slid back towards dictatorship, while citizens in many of its older democracies began questioning democracy's functioning and even its legitimacy. And of course it is not merely in Europe where democracy is under siege.

In Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe, Sheri Berman traces the long history of democracy in its cradle, Europe. She explains that in fact, just about every democratic wave in Europe initially failed, either collapsing in upon itself or succumbing to the forces of reaction. Yet even when democratic waves failed, there were always some achievements that lasted. Even the most virulently reactionary regimes could not suppress every element of democratic progress. Panoramic in scope, Berman takes listeners through two centuries of turmoil: revolution, fascism, civil war, and—finally—the emergence of liberal democratic Europe in the postwar era.

About Sheri Berman

Sheri Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She has written extensively on democracy, authoritarianism, populism, fascism, the history of the left, and European politics for both scholarly and non-scholarly publications.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emmanouil on February 05, 2022

2,5 αστεράκια. Εγκυκλοπαίδεια ιστορικών γεγονότων με σχετικά καλή πολιτική ανάλυση μέχρι το 1945. Από εκεί και πέρα ο ιδεολογικός χρωματισμός της έγινε έντονος και βαθιά υποκειμενικός χωρίς να κρατάει αποστάσεις. Πολύ καλή η δομή του βιβλίου καθώς και η εισαγωγή και τα συμπεράσματα στην αρχή και στο......more

Goodreads review by Sami on September 09, 2020

Great book that is not just the history of modern Europe and how democracy was development in stages that where often interrupted by dictatorships and civil wars, but a great history of how social change actually happens and the evolution of right and left political spectrums.......more

Goodreads review by Scott on June 02, 2023

This book revolutionized my understanding of how consolidated liberal democracy comes to be. In fact, I wasn't clear what consolidated or liberal or democracy requires or the degree these terms vary depending on the analyst. Bergman provides pocket histories of many parts of Europe which ultimately......more

Goodreads review by Andreas on December 02, 2021

A tour de force of modern European history. Berman boils the political history of the last two+ centuries into the struggle of building liberal democracies. Her major contribution is to show that consolidating stable democratic regimes usually is both a long and and arduous process full of interrupt......more

Goodreads review by Peter on June 24, 2021

A combination of historical research and comparative politics, Berman's book is vital if for no other reason our understanding of democracy is more myth than fact. Using Europe as a starting point, Berman proves virtually all successful governing systems started on the basis of awarding privileges,......more