Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe.

• Date: 01 August 2023
• Author: Wilson, Dwight

Bartels, Larry M. Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023. 280 pages. Hardcover, $29.95.

Does a populist specter haunt Europe? Conventional wisdom has it that economic dislocation, uncontrolled immigration, and loss of sovereignty to a distant EU has created a combustible mix and provoked unprecedented anger among voters that threatens to send democracies backsliding toward illiberalism or outright authoritarianism. A wave of electoral gains--and some victories--by right-wing nationalists around the continent in recent years appears to confirm the consensus.

In this timely volume, the political scientist Larry Bartels takes a critical view of the "democracy-in-crisis" thesis that has gained urgency as populist authoritarians appear to take advantage of the Euro-crisis to threaten consolidated democracies. Through a deft combination of case studies and survey data, Bartels has provided an accessibly written and novel perspective on this important discussion that will...