The Political Science Shelf

Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy
Daniel Drache, author
Marc D. Froese, author
ECW Press
www.ecwpress.com
9781770417052, $19.95, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Has-Populism-Won-Liberal-Democracy/dp/1770417052

Synopsis: From Trumpian America to Putin's nationalist Russia, and from Pol= and to the Philippines, rapid change and rising inequality have fueled a re= treat into tribalist nationalism fed by a fear of being left behind.

Populist and authoritarian leaders reach into this fear, using it as a leve=
r to power with empty promises of looking out for the little person and pro= mising a return to national greatness. This is happening in countries sprea=
d across the globe and the political spectrum, arising in the right and the=
left alike, and recently brought into harsh relief against Putin's brutal = invasion of Ukraine. So why are we so susceptible to this pernicious politi= cal style at this moment? How did we get here? And more importantly, will w=
e get back to more even-handed governments?

Filled with original research, political scientists, with the publication o=
f "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy", co-authors Daniel Drac=
he and Marc Froese collaboratively present an insightful, chilling and comp= elling analysis of the rise of populism, and reveal what it will take to do= use the flames.

Critique: "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy" is essential re= ading for those with concern about the proliferating encroachments on democ= ratic freedoms and the rule of law in the United States and around the worl=
d. Informative enhanced with the inclusion of an Introduction (A Warning), = two Appendices, a two page bibliography of Further Readings, and a twelve p= age Index, "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy" is unreservedl=
y recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, community, and = academic library Contemporary Political Science collections. It should be n= oted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activi= sts, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an=
interest in the subject that "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democr= acy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.95).

Editorial Note #1: Daniel Drache (https://danieldrache.com) is Professor Em= eritus of Political Science and a Senior Research Fellow at the Robarts Cen= tre for Canadian Studies at York University in Toronto. He is also the auth=
or of over twenty books on social policy and international affairs.

Editorial Note #2: Marc D. Froese (https://www.burmanu.ca/directory/marc-fr= oese) is the Professor of Political Science and the Founding Director of th=
e International Studies Program at Burman University in Alberta. He is also=
the author of three books and dozens of articles on international trade an=
d political economy.

The Seven Democratic Virtues
Christopher Beem
Penn State University Press
820 North University Drive, University Park, PA 16802-1003
www.psupress.org
9780271093949, $29.95, HC, 236pp

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Democratic-Virtues-Tribalism-Democracy/dp/0271= 093943

Synopsis: The insurrection of January 6, 2021, demonstrated conclusively th=
at tribalism in the United States has become dangerous. The "other side" is=
no longer viewed as a well-intentioned opponent but as an existential thre= at. If we don't change course, the survival of American democracy is far fr=
om assured.

With the publication of "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to O= vercome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy", Christopher Beem outlines specif=
ic steps that average citizens can take to back the nation away from the br= ink.

Instead of looking to political leaders, institutions, or policy for soluti= ons to extreme partisanship, Christopher Beem argues that concerned citizen=
s can and must take up the cause. He spells out seven civic practices we ca=
n all follow that will help us work against our antidemocratic tendencies a=
nd reorient the nation toward the "more perfect union" of our Founders. Bee= m's road map to restore our democracy draws on thinkers from Aristotle and = Thomas Aquinas to James Madison, Hannah Arendt, Abraham Lincoln, and Frankl=
in Delano Roosevelt.

Empathetic and eminently reasonable, "The Seven Democratic Virtues" present=
s practical advice for what each of us can do to change the political disco= urse and save our democracy. This is necessary reading for our politics tod=
ay -- and in the future.

Critique: A timely contribution to our national discourse with respect of t=
he great chasm of disinformation created divisions currently threatening th=
e continuation of such essential pillars of a democratic society as the pea= ceful transfer of power based on free and fair elections, "The Seven Democr= atic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy"=
is an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, profess= ional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Political Sc= ience collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Deserving of a=
s wide a readership as possible, it should be noted for students, academia,=
political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist genera=
l readers with an interest in the subject that "The Seven Democratic Virtue=
s: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy" can be a s= ubstantial tool in preserving our democracy in the face of insurrectionists=
-- including those still serving in the Federal Congress and in state gove= rnments at the present time.

Editorial Note: Christopher Beem (https://democracy.psu.edu/people/cxb518) =
is Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, Associate R= esearch Professor of Political Science, and Affiliate Faculty in the Rock E= thics Institute at Penn State. He is also the author or co-editor of five b= ooks, including The Necessity of Politics: Reclaiming American Public Life = and Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America's Poli= tical Crisis. Further, he is a co-host of the Democracy Works podcast and a=
frequent contributor to The Conversation.

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