Tocqueville's Dilemmas, and Ours: Sovereignty, Nationalism, Globalization

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How Tocquevilles ideas can help us build resilient liberal democracies in a divided world

How can todays liberal democracies withstand the illiberal wave sweeping the globe What can revive our waning faith in constitutional democracy Tocquevilles Dilemmas, and Ours argues that Alexis de Tocqueville, one of democracys greatest champions and most incisive critics, can guide us forward.

Drawing on Tocquevilles major works and lesser-known policy writings, Ewa Atanassow shines a bright light on the foundations of liberal democracy. She argues that its prospects depend on how we tackle three dilemmas that were as urgent in Tocquevilles day as they are in ours: how to institutionalize popular sovereignty, how to define nationhood, and how to grasp the possibility and limits of global governance. These are pivotal but often neglected dimensions of Tocquevilles work, and this fresh look at his writings provides a powerful framework for addressing the tensions between liberalism and democracy in the twenty-first century.

Recovering a richer liberalism capable of weathering todays political storms, Tocquevilles Dilemmas, and Ours explains how we can reclaim nationalism as a liberal force and reimagine sovereignty in a global ageand do so with one of democracys most discerning thinkers as our guide.

Author Bio

Ewa Atanassow is Professor of Politics at Bard College Berlin. Her books include (with Thomas Bartscherer and David A. Bateman) When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice, (with Alan S. Kahan) Liberal Moments: Reading Liberal Texts, and (with Richard Boyd) Tocqueville and the Frontiers of Democracy.