Description
Book SynopsisOffers lessons about civil society and regime change - and about the paths to democratic consolidation. This book shows that the German experience was exceptional, and that what is often labeled polarization is the result of such factors as expansion of the franchise, elite defections, and the mobilization of new voters.
Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2005 Winner of the 2003 Best Book On Democratization "[An] outstanding contribution to theory and policy... Highly readable, informative, and intelligible."--Choice "This impressive and engaging book ... is an exemplary work of comparative politics. It is elegantly written, and contains innovative theoretical arguments, sound historical research, and broad compelling empirical comparisons."--Marc Morje Howard, Political Science Quarterly "Nancy Bermeo's wide-ranging and scholarly study of seventeen modern democracies which have failed tracks the behavior of ordinary democratic citizens during the critical periods and makes the case that most of them remained loyal to the democratic process, even at the worst of times."--Ian Johnston, Humanist Perspectives
Table of ContentsLIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF TABLES xi PART I: OUR LITERATURE AND INTERWAR EUROPE 1 CHAPTER 1 Heroes or Villains? Images of Citizens and Civil Society in the Literature on Democracy 7 CHAPTER 2 Ordinary People and the Breakdown of Democracy in Interwar Europe 21 PART II: SOUTH AMERICA AND OUR LITERATURE REVISED 65 CHAPTER 3 The Reluctant Coup in Brazil 69 CHAPTER 4 The Slow-Motion Coup in Uruguay 100 CHAPTER 5 The Tragedy of Democracy in Chile 138 CHAPTER 6 The Violent Death of Democracy in Argentina 177 CHAPTER 7 Polarization and the Ignorance of Elites 221 INDEX 257
