Ill Winds

"From America's leading scholar of democracy, the definitive exploration of today's dangerously rising wave of authoritarianism, from Asia to America—and a personal, passionate call to action that shows us how to restore U.S. democracy and global leadership... As Diamond has long chronicled, democracy expands and retreats in waves. From the 1970s into the 1990s, the "third wave" saw democracy spread through Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa and attempt to take root in the former Soviet empire. But since 2006, Diamond has tracked a global democratic recession. By 2016, illiberal rulers were eroding democracy in Hungary, Poland, Turkey, the Philippines, and more, while China and Russia—the world's leading autocracies—grew increasingly bold and bullying. And with Trump's election, the global retreat from freedom spread from democracy's margins to its heart... If America does not reclaim its traditional place as the keystone of democracy, today's authoritarian trend will accelerate into a "third reverse wave" of democratic breakdowns. That wave could become a tsunami. And that could let Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and their admirers turn the 21st century into a dark time of surging authoritarianism... [Larry Diamond] offers concrete, deeply informed suggestions for policymakers and citizens alike, including ways to fight polarization, reduce the influence of money, combat partisan gerrymandering, expand voter turnout, and negate the electoral college."—