{"product_id":"9781805265221","title":"Demagogues and Despots : Democracies on the Brink","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: John Keane\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003ePolitical science \u0026amp; theory\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 21 May 2026 by C Hurst \u0026amp; Co Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 260 pages\u003cbr\u003e190 x 126 | 0g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemocracy and despotism live closer together than you’d expect—this briskly astute book reveals why that should alarm us all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend threatening democracy everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also in states run by popularly elected demagogues—Trump, Erdogan and Netanyahu.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeading political thinker John Keane shows why this new despotism defies the laws of political gravity. Instead of relying exclusively on fear or force, it fosters a strange, pseudo-democratic type of government, led by rulers skilled in winning public loyalty through election-rigging, legal trickery, corruption, weaponised lying and talk of enemies. And alarmingly, the new despots hunt in packs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut what’s so good about democracy? In bold, energetic prose, Keane explains that it’s much more than popular self-government based on free and fair elections. Democracy is the collective insistence that unaccountable power is always dangerous—and that democratic institutions are our best weapon against demagogues and despots.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57079590977911,"sku":"9781805265221","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0357\/3199\/6807\/files\/9781805265221.jpg?v=1778341138","url":"https:\/\/thebookhousebroughtyferry.co.uk\/products\/9781805265221","provider":"The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}