Democracy Books

Book SynopsisDemocracy in America is arguably the most perceptive and influential book ever written about American politics and society. The Library of America now presents Arthur Goldhammer's acclaimed translation in a two-volume Paperback Classics edition. Winner of the 2004 Translation Prize awarded by the French-American Foundation, Goldhammer's elegant rendering is the first to capture fully the precision and grace of Tocqueville's style and the full force of his profound ideas and observations. Volume One (1835) and Volume Two (1840) are published separately, each with its own introductory essay by historian Olivier Zunz (Why the American Century?) exploring the creation and evolution of Tocqueville's masterpiece.

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Book SynopsisTogether for the first time: two masterworks on the undercurrents of the American mind by one of our greatest historiansRichard Hofstadter''s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and The Paranoid Style in American Politics are two essential works that lay bare the worrying trends of irrationalism, demagoguery, destructive populism, and conspiratorial thinking that have long influenced American politics and culture. Whether underground or--as in our present moment--out in the open, these currents of resentment, suspicion, and conspiratorial delusion received their authoritative treatment from Hofstadter, among the greatest of twentieth-century American historians, at a time when many public intellectuals and scholars did not take them seriously enough. These two masterworks are joined here by Sean Wilentz''s selection of Hofstadter''s most trenchant uncollected writings of the postwar period: discussions of the Constitution''s framers, the personality and legacy of FDR, higher education and its discontents, the relationship of fundamentalism to right-wing politics, and the advent of the modern conservative movement.

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Book SynopsisSince Thailand's prolonged political crisis began with royalist mobilization against prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2005, international observers have been treated to easy cliches about reactionary Thai elites. The chapters in this book invite readers to hold back quick judgement and instead engage with the conservative norms of sections of the middle class, the military, intellectuals and state ideologues. The opening chapter by the editors provides a historical overview of relevant themes and introduces the translated pieces. It also argues that the concept of a supra-constitution - first introduced by legal scholar Somchai Preechasilpakul in a brilliant lecture to the Pridi Banomyong Institute in 2007 - is a powerful frame for interpreting conservative Thai politics. Somchai's lecture, now translated here, explains that an unwritten supra-constitution sits above the many failed constitutions that litter Thai history. Like a guiding spirit it contains evolving norms on military and monarchical power which circumscribe democratic political contest. Other translations include chapters from Nakharin Metrairat's seminal Thoughts, Knowledge and Political Power in the Siamese Revolution (1990) and the unsurpassed Political Thought of the Thai Military (1990) by Chalermkiat Phi-nuan. Nakarin's account of vibrant traditionalist thought and Chalermkiat's interrogation of the cosmological underpinnings of military thought offer profound insights unavailable in English-language scholarship. On royalism, the translation of Kramol Thongthammachat's "National Ideology" illuminates how an important state ideologue co-developed a cross-class royalist ideology that emerged as a powerful force after the polarized 1970s. The Thai politician Pramuan Rajunaseri's sensational book Royal Powers, in part translated here, helped in 2005 to mobilize royalist sentiment against Thaksin. Work by Saichon Sattayanurak and Pasuk Phongpaichit, both national award-winning scholars, complete the collection. Pasuk's prescient contribution, originally written in English, warned about new forms of bureaucratic-political patronage emerging during the 1990s that limited civil society activism. Relatedly, Saichon explores how Sino-Thai middle-class dependency on royal power and the judiciary emerges from its historical experience of political insecurity. This is a must-have reference, one that enables a better understanding of the forces that have shaped Thailand's democracy struggles.

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Book SynopsisThe historic electoral defeat suffered in 2018 by Barisan Nasional (BN), which had ruled Malaysia for over half a century since independence, raised high expectations for electoral reform. Wide-ranging reform recommendations were indeed advanced but clearly these were complicated by the ethnic dimension and required a sustained effort to succeed. Prospects for their implementation were dimmed by the dramatic fall of the 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan government, reduced political activity during the Covid lockdown and in recent times the revived fortunes of BN-aligned political forces. Taking all of these factors into account, this impressive study takes stock of the state of democracy in Malaysia by offering readers a deep but readily understandable analysis of an array of electoral reform issues. Produced by a team of scholars ranging from very senior to promising younger academics, it also draws on the experiences of other countries and provides insights and lessons for countries wishing to undertake electoral reform after transitioning from authoritarianism. The result is a resource that will interest the politically engaged as well as scholars of political process, a study that is both wide-ranging and focused, and a primer on electoral politics that will be of wide interest far beyond Malaysia.

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