Brian Grodsky argues that until recently the waves of democratic revolutions, from the American and the French to the Arab Spring, had essentially left democracy as the only game in town. Apart from a few isolated holdouts, “oppositionists” of varied political and ideological stripes have been largely confined to presenting themselves as would-be democratizers (14). He argues, however, these revolutions actually pose a threat to the future legitimacy of democracy due to a disconnect between “the false promise of democracy and the real results it delivers” (37).

At the center of this disconnect lies the search for human dignity. While the quest for human dignity is both political and economic, the primary focus for many regime opponents is economic in nature. First and foremost, they seek a better life with increased standards of living. Only after these material expectations are met are their desires likely to “transcend into the political sphere” (215). The problem is that democracies, especially new ones, are not always very effective at generating the kind of short-term economic improvements expected of them. He argues this is especially true in an era of IMF-driven austerity and limited government, which while perhaps beneficial in the long run are much more likely to create short-term economic dislocation. Too often the result is a “lethal combination of poverty and (perceived) poor governance [that] quickly chips away at a democracy's legitimacy” (13). The real danger is that there are now non-democratic alternatives in China and Russia that promise the economic aspects of humanity dignity that many of the world's poor crave. Given the current trajectory, he fears that “people may soon begin to connect democracy less with its shining stars and more with its fallen ones” (206). The net result could be a far less democratic world.

These arguments are presented in ten well-written and researched chapters that cover the main argument (Chapter 1), how human dignity became linked to democracy (Chapter 2), followed by seven chapter-length case studies exploring the US and French revolutions (3), the Russian, German, and Iranian cases (4), Solidarity in Poland (5), post-apartheid South Africa (6), the trials of Serbia (7), the Rose Revolution in Georgia (8), and finally the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt (9). His five-fold solution to rescuing democracy from this growing disconnect is presented in chapter ten. He essentially calls for re-envisioning of how democracies support democratic transitions, including helping to create more realistic expectations by both foreign donors and locals alike, as well as better shoring up the economic environment in the short-run to allow new states to showcase themselves as effective governors.

This book is well suited for use in an undergraduate course on democracy. The writing style is casual, almost conversational. The paragraphs are short, four to five per page, which helps make it an easy read. The history of each case is clearly conveyed without going into too much unnecessary detail. Knowledgeable readers will be able to follow right along, and those not familiar with the cases will find the chapters readily accessible. The research is referenced, albeit in a somewhat drawn-out fashion: Note #40 in Chapter 3 appears on page sixty, which is identified on page 230 as “Krasner 1999, 22,” which is fully identified in the bibliography on page 254. While this improves the flow of each chapter, it adds to the length of the book, and hence its cost, but at $35.00 it remains at a reasonable price point for inclusion in a multi-text course or seminar.

Fearing “that we stand on the precipice of a democratization decline,” Grodsky's goal is to sound an alarm (vii). Unmet economic expectations, whether realistic or not, clearly pose a threat to democratization and governance in general. To the extent that democracy is expected to satisfy these expectations, and proves unable to do so, he raises a valid set of concerns for both established and transitional democracies alike. While one could question the extent to which Putin's Russia, with its growing dissatisfaction over unending corruption, or China, with its own set of corruption and environmental challenges, offers a more appealing alternative model, this book will stimulate debate about how democratization and economic reforms can be undertaken simultaneously.