Freedom for Sale
Why the World Is Trading Democracy for Security
1st Edition
January 2010
Hardcover · 304 Pages
$27.95 U.S. · €19.99 E.U.
ISBN 9780465015399
Basic Books
Hardcover · 304 Pages
$27.95 U.S. · €19.99 E.U.
ISBN 9780465015399
Basic Books
Recommended for These Courses
- Business and Economics: Comparative Economics
- Business and Economics: Economics / General
- International Relations: Comparative Government
- International Relations: General
- Political Science: Comparative Politics
- Political Science: International Relations
Description
Democratic liberalism v. authoritarianism—the ideological divide that defined the twentieth century. But when the cold war ended, the end of history was proclaimed. Soon the fire of freedom would burn worldwide, the experts said. And where markets were freed, human rights would inevitably follow. Or not.
In the last twenty years, nations including India, Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates have disproved the idea that capitalism and democracy are inextricably linked. Emerging middle classes have proven themselves all too willing to sacrifice certain democratic rights—including free speech, an open media, and free elections—in exchange for prosperity. Authoritarian capitalism has emerged as a potent rival to Western democracy. Combining boots-on-the-ground reporting with incisive analysis, award-winning journalist John Kampfner describes this alarming trend—one that has only been exacerbated by the global economic meltdown—and what the world’s great democracies must do to counter it.
In the last twenty years, nations including India, Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates have disproved the idea that capitalism and democracy are inextricably linked. Emerging middle classes have proven themselves all too willing to sacrifice certain democratic rights—including free speech, an open media, and free elections—in exchange for prosperity. Authoritarian capitalism has emerged as a potent rival to Western democracy. Combining boots-on-the-ground reporting with incisive analysis, award-winning journalist John Kampfner describes this alarming trend—one that has only been exacerbated by the global economic meltdown—and what the world’s great democracies must do to counter it.
About the Author
As Editor of the New Statesman magazine from 2005–2008, John Kampfner won a number of awards, including Current Affairs Magazine Editor of the Year. He is the author of Blair’s Wars, selected as a book of the year in 2003 by the Times, Sunday Times and Observer. For nearly a decade Kampfner was correspondent for Reuters and the Daily Telegraph in Moscow and Berlin, before becoming political correspondent and commentator for the Financial Times and the BBC. He lives in London.