MACMILLAN Why Democracies Flounder and Fail: Remedying Mass Society Politics

Democracy is in crisis because voices of the people are ignored due to a politics of mass society. After demonstrating how the French Fourth Republic failed, wherein Singapore’s totalitarianism is a dangerous model, Washington is enmeshed in gridlock, and there is a global democracy deficit, solutions are offered to revitalize democracy as the best form of government. The book demonstrates how mass society politics operates, with intermediate institutions of civil society (media, pressure groups, political parties) no longer transmitting the will of the people to government but instead are concerned with corporate interests and have developed oligarchical mindsets. Rather than micro-remedy bandaids, the author focuses on the need to transform governing philosophies from pragmatic to humanistic solutions.  Review “Haas’ work yields a rich and comprehensive perspective on why democracies flounder and fail. Haas identifies factors of selfish policy-makers and companies, alongside the inability of the electorate to have a strong enough impact on their government or civil society. The book contributes to the existing body of research on democratization by illuminating the critical factors related to the current inadequacies and long-standing failures on the part of democracies, both in national and international level.” (Ikhsan Darmawan, Democratization, August 23, 2019) From the Back Cover Democracy is in crisis because voices of the people are ignored due to a politics of mass society. After demonstrating how the French Fourth Republic failed, wherein Singapore’s totalitarianism is a dangerous model, Washington is enmeshed in gridlock, and there is a global democracy deficit, solutions are offered to revitalize democracy as the best form of government.  The book demonstrates how mass society politics operates, with intermediate institutions of civil society (media, pressure groups, political parties) no longer transmitting the will of the people to government but instead are concerned with corporate interests and have developed oligarchical mindsets. Rather than micro-remedy bandaids, the author focuses on the need to transform governing philosophies from pragmatic to humanistic solutions.  Michael Haas is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and political scientist who has taught at several universities―London, Northwestern, Purdue, the University of California (Riverside), the University of Hawaiʻi, and multiple campuses of California State University. The author of more than 50 books, including Asian and Pacific Cooperation, International Relations Theory, and Political Science Revitalized, he now gives public lecturers around the world. About the Author Michael Haas is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and political scientist who has taught at several universities―London, Northwestern, Purdue, the University of California (Riverside), the University of Hawaiʻi, and multiple campuses of California State University. The author of more than 50 books, including Asian and Pacific Cooperation, International Relations Theory, and Political Science Revitalized, he now gives public lecturers around the world.