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Demagogues and Despots
Democracies on the brink
Brief Description
Democracy and despotism live closer together than you'd expect. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane reveals why that should alarm us all. We live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend gaining the upper hand everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia,...
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Demagogues and Despots
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Democracy and despotism live closer together than you'd expect. Leading political thinker John Keane reveals why that should alarm us all.
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Description
Democracy and despotism live closer together than you'd expect. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane reveals why that should alarm us all.
We live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend gaining the upper hand everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also in states run by popularly elected demagogues such as Orbn and Erdoan, Netanyahu and Trump.
John Keane shows why this new despotism defies the laws of political gravity. Instead of relying on fear or raw force, it fosters a strange, pseudo-democratic type of government, led by rulers skilled in winning public loyalty through government handouts, election-rigging, legal trickery, weaponised lying and talk of enemies. And, alarmingly, these leaders hunt in packs.
What's so good about democracy? Keane explains that it's much more than popular self-government based on free and fair elections. Democracy is a collective insistence that unaccountable power is always dangerous, and that it's the best way to stop demagogues and despots from ruining life on our planet.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781761170881
Publisher: NewSouth Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 May 2026
Country: Australia
Imprint: NewSouth Publishing
Illustration: Illustrations
DIMENSIONS
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 224
About the Author
John Keane is Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney and is renowned globally for his creative thinking about politics, history, media and democracy. His books include The Shortest History of Democracy, The Life and Death of Democracy, the bestselling Tom Paine: A political life, and the acclaimed biography Vclav Havel.
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