Abstract
This chapter reviews the ‘democracy is dead’ discourse using multiple sources of data. It finds that at the very least there is some distortion in the presentation of results and some inconsistencies across sources. Nevertheless, it is clear that democracy is under threat and that it cannot be assumed to be the natural ideology of choice. In addition to existing authoritarian forms of government, illiberal democracy has emerged as the twenty-first century’s vision of fascism. Loyal to electoral democracy, illiberalism takes control of the state for its own purposes that are largely nationalistic, anti-minority, anti-freedom driven by strong leaders and their associates. Democracy is not dead, but it now has strong challengers. Schools in illiberal societies will feel this challenge through cultural and civic programmes that reflect the values of an illiberal regime.
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Kennedy, K.J. (2021). Is Democracy ‘Dead’?. In: Civic Engagement in Changing Contexts. SpringerBriefs in Education(). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7495-2_5
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