David Stastavage presents The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/415566 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today Author: David Stastavage Narrator: Tom Perkins Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hours 34 minutes Release date: June 20, 2020 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4 of Total 1 Genres: World Publisher's Summary: Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer—democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times. David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished—and when and why they declined—can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future. Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent—as in medieval Europe—rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong—as in China or the Middle East—consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory.