Overview

A demagogue is a tyrant who owes his initial rise to the democratic support of the masses. Huey Long, Hugo Chavez, and Moqtada al-Sadr are all clear examples of this dangerous byproduct of democracy. Demagogue takes a long view of the fight to defend democracy from within, from the brutal general Cleon in ancient Athens, the demagogues who plagued the bloody French Revolution, George W. Bush's naIve democratic experiment in Iraq, and beyond. This compelling narrative weaves stories about some of history's most fascinating figures, including Adolf Hitler, Senator Joe McCarthy, and General Douglas Macarthur, and explains how humanity's urge for liberty can give rise to dark forces that threaten that very freedom. To find the solution to democracy's demagogue problem, the book delves into the stories of four great thinkers who all personally struggled with democracy - Plato, Alexis de Tocqueville, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt.

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9780230606241

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Reviews

'This is an important book for the post-George W. Bush years. Signer's story about the fight to defend democracy from its own worst enemy is a rich and compelling treatment of one of our most urgent problems today. This should be essential reading for progressives looking for a way forward, admirers of America's history of internationalist leadership abroad and constitutional accomplishments at home, foreign policy scholars and students, and everyone interested in the story of freedom's struggle to survive in the world' - Senator John Edwards

'This is an important book for the post-George W. Bush years. Signer's story about the fight to defend democracy from its own worst enemy is a rich and compelling treatment of one of our most urgent problems today. This should be essential reading for progressives looking for a way forward, admirers of America's history of internationalist leadership abroad and constitutional accomplishments at home, foreign policy scholars and students, and everyone interested in the story of freedom's struggle to survive in the world' - Senator John Edwards '...a thoughtful book, one that employs history, political theory, and foreign policy analysis to impressive effect, and one that makes a powerful case for the importance of an engaged citizenry's constitutional conscience in the fight against demagogic tyranny and excess.' -Terrorism and Political Violence

Author Information

MICHAEL SIGNER is Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for American Progress and Senior National Security Policy Fellow at the think tank Third Way. He was Senator John Edwards' foreign policy advisor on his presidential campaign. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, and Democracy: A Journal of Ideas and he has been interviewed by The Washington Post, NPR, and MSNBC, among others. He lives in Arlington,Virginia.

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