Democracy Erodes from the TopLeaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe\nAuthor(s): Larry M. Bartels\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Princeton University Press, United States\nImprint: Princeton University Press\nISBN-13: 9780691244501, 978-0691244501\nSynopsis\nWhy leaders, not citizens, are the driving force in Europes crisis of democracy\n\nAn apparent explosion of support for right-wing populist parties has triggered widespread fears that liberal democracy is facing its worst crisis since the 1930s. Democracy Erodes from the Top reveals that the real crisis stems not from an increasingly populist public but from political leaders who exploit or mismanage the chronic vulnerabilities of democracy.\n\nIn this provocative book, Larry Bartels dismantles the pervasive myth of a populist wave in contemporary European public opinion. While there has always been a substantial reservoir of populist sentiment, Europeans are no less trusting of their politicians and parliaments.