Overview

This book revitalizes the discourse on backsliding democracy and the global rise of autocracy, extending the consequences of their changes to a sustainable future. In three sections, the book systematically examines diverse pathways leading autocracies to rise and spread worldwide and debates the future consequences. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the book conceptualizes the rise of autocracy and the backsliding of democracy by studying dictatorship, authoritarianization processes, autocracy’s diffusion, and populism. It reveals the global spread of autocracy and reflects on the challenges this poses to, and the likely impacts on, a sustainable future. This book is of key interest to scholars and students of autocracy/autocratization, democracy and democratization, political sociology, sustainability, and more broadly to international relations and comparative politics.

Full Product Details

9781032851082

Table of Contents

Reviews

""This rich and wide-ranging collection of essays addresses one of the critical issues of our time: the rise in autocracies across the globe and its implications for the sustainability of democracy, environmental protection, and human rights. The collection makes clear the urgent need for international collaboration to counter the growing threat posed by autocracies and associated tendencies."" Richard Caplan, Oxford University, UK “We live in an age of anxiety, with fears growing that free societies are under attack from authoritarians within and beyond their frontiers. This book, with its wide ranging and well-researched contributions, looks at the interaction between the functioning of democracy and the difficulties facing decision-makers trying to meet commitments undertaken to ensure a sustainable future for us all. This original approach extends the consideration of threats to democracy to wider, equally urgent concerns about our common future. These deserve the attention of citizens, policy makers and analysts.” Geoffrey Harris, European Parliament official 1976-2016 ""The world is currently grappling with two major crises: climate change, which poses a severe threat to global sustainability, and the rise of autocratic regimes in formerly democratic countries, which undermines global governance. Although these issues might appear unrelated, this essential reading for students of political science, public policy, and climate change persuasively argues that democratic backsliding significantly threatens environmental sustainability. For those committed to combating rising temperatures and saving the planet, ensuring the strength and resilience of democracies worldwide may be a crucial first step."" Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, University of Maryland College Park, USA

Author Information

Barbara Wejnert is Professor in the Department of Environment and Sustainability and an affiliated faculty member at the Jaeckel Center for Law, Democracy, and Governing at the University at Buffalo, USA.

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