Waves of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change

by John Markoff

The second edition of this classic text covers contemporary democracy movements including the Arab Spring and its aftermath, Occupy, and new nations as well as old issues from the Balkans to Africa, from Latin America to Ukraine. The author has traveled widely around the world to take the pulse of transition and to profile journeys toward democracy and journeys away from democracy, too. At the same time, the book addresses important challenges that have emerged in even well-established democracies. These show up in declining voting rates, diminished membership in political parties, and, in some countries including the United States, negative views of central democratic institutions (like the US Congress).

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

223 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

John Gregory Markoff is a journalist best known for his work covering technology at The New York Times for 28 years until his retirement in 2016, and a book and series of articles about the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Reviews

[Alice Löffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although sometimes quite repetitive, the updated version gives a comprehensive overview of the history of demoracy.

[Danyel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first chapter and the ways in which is described democratic and anti-democratic development as waves occurring in divergent locales. The rest of the book bored me too tears but I had to read it for a Political Science course. The tragic life of a university student.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a text book for a class on transitional democracies. Over all, it is a good history on developing democracies around the world. However, since it was printed in 1996, it is missing the crucial democratic developments of the 90s and 2000s. Still, as a history book, it is very interesting.