Larry Diamond - Is There an Emerging Crisis of Democracy?

Paralysis of functioning democracies; abusive regimes; brazen corruption and rent-seeking; the rise of military authoritarian rule; and even the Russian invasion of Crimea all pose a threat to democracy. For the eighth consecutive year, Freedom House finds that the number of countries declining in freedom have greatly exceeded the number improving. And most of the advanced industrial democracies, including the United States, seem unable to address their long-term fiscal and other policy challenges. Is there an emerging global crisis of democracy? And if so, why? CDDRL Director Larry Diamond attempts to disentangle some of the emerging worldwide crises through his recent talk at Stanford University. Though democracy faces a difficult time, Diamond emphasizes that we must bet on hope and that the human species has done far better with democracy than what history might predict. To learn more, please visit: .