Protecting Democracy

Over the past several decades, democracy has taken root or been re-established in a number of countries with support from other democratic states and private groups. While the increase in the number of democracies worldwide has been widely heralded, very little has been written on how democracy can be protected and sustained where it has been chosen by the people of a state. Coups d'etat and the erosion of democratic freedoms and institutions remain the most salient threats to democratic governance around the globe. How can democratic states protect themselves and secure more effective international action against such threats? Protecting Democracy: International Responses is the first comprehensive guide to preventing and responding to threats to coups and erosions in democracies. Through case studies and in-depth analyses, the book provides legal and policy justification for these processes and discusses how they can be made more effective, combining the findings of an international task force on threats to democracy with contributions from leading scholars and policymakers. Timely and enthralling, Protecting Democracy is essential reading for policymakers and academics, as well as anyone committed to supporting democracy at home and abroad.