When democracy breaks : studies in democratic erosion and collapse, from ancient Athens to the present day

Democracy is often described in two opposite ways, as either wonderfully resilient or dangerously fragile. Curiously, both characterizations can be correct, depending on the context. In a relatively small number of countries, democracy has survived numerous shocks across many generations, while in others it has faltered or collapsed, whether after just a short time or a long period of apparent strength. Some broken democracies have reconstituted themselves as democracies once again, while others have notably failed to do so--