The New Despotism

Keane insists that only by dissecting the new despotisms supple, but no less shady, political techniques can we understand how it renders its subjects compliant and seemingly gratefulRich and insightfulstands out as a major contribution to contemporary debates about democracys prospects. He paints an unnerving portrait of a possible global future in which democracy, in any defensible sense of the term, has been demoted and marginalized. -- William E. Scheuerman * Boston Review * A brilliant re-interpretation of tyrannyTheres scarcely a reader anywhere in the Western world who wont read Keanes description of this new form of tyranny without a cold chill of recognition and perhaps the fear that all this insight comes too late to helpStands out at once as a vital book for the times. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review * Keanehas long been one of the worlds most erudite, original, astute, and passionate students of democratic politics. With this latest offering he injects one hell of a scary book into an already frenzied worldKeanes core message is clear: we democrats may abhor these new despotisms, but we cannot afford to underestimate themDemand[s] us to stop and take a good look at what is going on around us. -- Paul t Hart * Inside Story * If you ever held the assumption that despotic regimes are old-fashioned, technologically backwards countries, where old men rule over poor and uneducated people, you are in for a rideThis book will undoubtedly shift the analytical lens through which we view despotic regimesThe new despotism is less prone to implosions reminiscent of the Soviet Union or breakdowns as witnessed in Latin America. If it is that durable, it constitutes an attractive alternative to liberal democracy. This means that the self-regard, the feeling of invincibility and the arguable complacency of such democracies are misplaced. You have been warned. -- Gergana Dimova * LSE Review of Books * [A] dire and sweeping assessmentDespotism, [Keane] warns, could be the future of democracy if people dont wake up and confront the threat. -- Colin Woodward * Washington Monthly * Important because it brings an acute understanding of democracy to focus on its potential fate[Keane] makes a strong case in The New Despotism for the urgent need to understand this global trendOffers not just a lively argument with numerous examples, and a rich assembly of sources through detailed endnotes, but also a writing style that commands attention. -- Glyn Davis * Australian Book Review * This new political world is brilliantly describedHis definition of the changing contours of democracy is so startlingKeane teases out the way despotsalthough they call themselves leaderssubvert democracy to seize power and then subvert the structures of the state to hold it. They rule not as ruthless autocrats but rather by co-opting the people to buttress and strengthen their power. -- Nicholas Stuart * Canberra Times * An original and incisive analysis of the rise of demagogue-style leaders across large parts of the world today. New-style despotism, the author shows, is distinctive to our ageless openly violent than that of the past, but more insidious, posing a threat not just in less-developed parts of the world but to the established democracies. -- Anthony Giddens, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, and Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge Keanes short book The New Despotismdrily filleting the new threats to liberal democracyis essential. * Australian Book Review * In these dark times for democracy, the books of John Keane bring new light, refreshing perspectives, and what we need most: hope. -- Enrique Krauze, author of <i>Mexico: Biography of Power</i> and <i>Redeemers: Ideas and Power in Latin America</i> John Keane is right to see his book as Machiavellis Prince for our times. His thesis that despotisms are to

John Keane is Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney and at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB). He is renowned globally for his creative thinking about democracy. Among his best-known books are When Trees Fall, Monkeys Scatter; Power and Humility: The Future of Monitory Democracy; and the highly acclaimed full-scale history The Life and Death of Democracy.