Democracy Rules

Reviews / Votes

Lively. . . This is one of those rare books about a pressing subject that reads less like a forced march than an inviting stroll . . . A book that encourages thinking, observation and discernment -- Jennifer Szalai * The New York Times * My first holiday book is Jan-Werner Mueller's Democracy Rules, an extraordinarily timely investigation of what is happening to our increasingly fragile democracies, from the US to India. It is learned but clearly written, and always intelligent, open-minded and morally engaged -- Rory Stewart * The Times * One of the most notable Western voices on the subject of populism. . . Mueller is not an alarmist. . . he seeks to recover the 'spirit' of democratic politics -- Michael Burleigh * Literary Review * As a learned political observer, Jan-Werner Mueller crosses many borders. He writes for the academy and the broader public. As a German teaching at Princeton University, he understands Europe and the US. He is at ease with data-minded social science, the history of ideas and political philosophy. . . With breadth of view go clarity and economy. His books are usually brisk and to the point -- Edmund Fawcett * Financial Times * Mueller has established himself as a subtle and wide-ranging thinker on matters of governance. His book promises to make sense of the present political moment and its substantial dangers. . . and offers a robust defence of democracy. . . engaging and substantial -- Lawrence Douglas * TLS * Compelling. . . a welcome return to democratic first principles. . . the merit of Mueller's book is to restate them with admirable clarity -- Adrian Pabst * Prospect * In elegant and incisive terms, Democracy Rules makes clear that proponents of liberal democracy must reclaim fundamental democratic principles and values -- G. John Ikenberry * Foreign Affairs * With characteristic brio and intellectual resourcefulness, Jan-Werner Mueller invites us to rethink our fundamental political notion. He not only defuses much apocalyptic talk about the decay of democracy in this salutary book; he alerts us to its undiminished appeal and untested possibilities -- Pankaj Mishra Erudite and urbane, but never condescending or ponderous, Jan-Werner Mueller has been the greatest theoretician of what is happening to democracy in our time. Saving democracy, he proposes, requires knowing what it is first, and attending to its infrastructure. Never complacent, and never despairing, this book survives the wreckage of prognostications of democracy's death and doom in the populist era -- Samuel Moyn A superb work of democratic theory, passionately argued and elegantly written -- Ivan Krastev Democracy Rules captures the essence of our political moment. It clarifies the fundamental features of modern democracy and populism - following its arguments from the US to India. It is engaging and engaged, without ever being partisan. It is based on deep academic learning, but its arguments are clear, principled, and accessible. It makes a profound moral case that should matter to all our politicians and citizens today. This is political thought at its best -- Rory Stewart In this brilliant book, Jan-Werner Mueller imagines a democratic politics that is fluid, creative, messy, and dynamic in defining who we are as a people and offering a path forward -- Ro Khanna Few people are as well-equipped as Jan-Werner Mueller to assess today's heated debates about democracy with a judiciousness deeply informed by history, international politics and social science. With unerring realism he examines the critical conditions necessary for democracies to function, reminding us of the essential role played by intermediary institutions such parties, the idea of the loyal opposition, and the free press. This realism is at the heart of his fundamental prescription; while we may not have grounds for optimism, we must find a sound basis for hope -- Tamsin Shaw