Book summary

Fareed Zakaria presents a devastating account of the essential difference between democracy and liberty. Zakaria clearly shows that democracy is usually not the best form of government for struggling nations, which normally require a strong rule of law in order to enforce individual rights. His historical examples include Western Europe in the early 20th century, where democracy tolerated, and perhaps even encouraged, the rise of fascism, and more recent disasters such as Indonesia, which has seen a tremendous increase in poverty and Islamic fundamentalism since the dictator Suharto stepped down in 1998. Contrarily, Zakaria points out nations such as South Korea that have been able to transfer from an autocracy to a more democratic form of rule after a more prolonged period. He is overtly critical of the United States's long history of blindly forcing democracy on developing nations, either by passively threatening to withhold financial aid, or by actively providing arms and military support to handpicked "democratic" movements, which have often imposed corrupt and brutal regimes, particularly in South America. Named as a Notable Book by the New York Times in 2003.

Media reviews

"[A] brave and ambitious book....Whether, in our hyperdemocratic age, there is a market for such a classical defense of aristocratic rule must be doubtful....Yet it deserves a wide readership. Those who fear that while seeking to impose its will on far-flung countries the American republic may unwittingly follow Rome down the path to imperial perdition will read it with a mixture of admiration and unease."