After the Fall: From the End of History to the Crisis of Democracy, How Politicians Broke Our World

A renowned political scientist’s searing explanation for the rightward turn of global politics since the end of the Cold War. “A compelling analysis—profoundly challenging to so many Western assumptions—with an admirable blend of realism, imagination, unflinching criticism, and generosity.” ―Rory Stewart, author The Places in Between The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ushered in an era of tremendous political optimism: communism was receding and democracy was on the march in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and much of Asia. Even surviving communist regimes were adopting capitalism, and the stagflation of the 1970s and industrial strife of the 1980s were in the rearview mirror. Four decades later, euphoria has given way to resentment and pessimism. Britain left the EU, Donald Trump’s populist crusade gained him the White House not once, but twice, and right-wing parties have gained power across Europe and other parts of the world on a scale not seen since the 1930s. What happened? In After the Fall, pre-eminent political scientist Ian Shapiro argues that the current crisis was far from inevitable.