An ambitious account of the corrosion of liberal democracy in rich and poor countries alike, arguing that antidemocratic sentiment reflects fear of material and cultural loss, not a critique of liberalism’s failure to deliver equality, and suggesting possible ways out.

The retreat of liberal democracy in the twenty-first century has been impossible to ignore. From Wisconsin to Warsaw, Budapest to Bangalore, the public is turning against pluralism and liberal institutions and instead professing unapologetic nationalism and majoritarianism. Critics of inequality argue that this is a predictable response to failures of capitalism and liberalism, but Pranab Bardhan, a development economist, sees things differently. The problem is not inequality but insecurity—financial and cultural.

Bardhan notes that antidemocratic movements have taken root globally in a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic groups. In the United States, older, less-educated, rural populations have withdrawn from democracy. But in India, the prevailing Hindu Nationalists enjoy the support of educated, aspirational urban youth. And in Europe, antidemocratic populists firmly back the welfare state (but for nonimmigrants). What is consistent among antidemocrats is fear of losing what they have. That could be money but is most often national pride and culture and the comfort of tradition.

A World of Insecurity argues for context-sensitive responses. Some, like universal basic income schemes, are better suited to poor countries. Others, like worker empowerment and international coordination, have broader appeal. But improving material security won’t be enough to sustain democracy. Nor, Bardhan writes, should we be tempted by the ultimately hollow lure of China’s authoritarian model. He urges liberals to adopt at least a grudging respect for fellow citizens’ local attachments. By affirming civic forms of community pride, we might hope to temper cultural anxieties before they become pathological.

"Situating American Trumpism within a global story of the rise of antidemocratic politics in other big, diverse countries like Brazil and India,…[Bardhan] presents a sober contemplation of demagogues like Jair Bolsonaro and Narendra Modi, who weaken democracy with the support of disaffected electoral majorities." - New York Review of Books

"Ambitious…[This book] makes an important contribution to the burgeoning literature on the erosion of democracy worldwide." - Financial Times

"Bardhan argues that the ills plaguing the world are best understood not in terms of inequality but in terms of insecurity—simmering economic and social anxiety about job loss, declining incomes, poverty, and cultural change." - Foreign Affairs

"Not poverty, not inequality, but insecurity is at the root of the worldwide upsurge in populism and disenchantment with democracy. This is the main message of A World of Insecurity…[Bardhan’s] impressively comprehensive, richly informed and balanced book." - Brussels Times

"Bardhan’s contribution to a growing body of literature on the phenomenon of disenchantment is particularly welcome as it not only contains piercing commentaries and fresh insights but also offers some workable solutions to this conundrum…The book hands us a great opportunity to bridge the widening gap between intellectual rigour and popular opinion." - Telegraph India

"Wide-ranging…Policy makers, labor activists, and economists will find much to chew on." - Publishers Weekly

"[Bardhan] proposes that liberalism’s ethical principles—its normative claims—are still as palpable today in our present historical circumstances, in the political ruins we call neoliberalism and populism, as they were at their origin in the seventeenth century." - Project Syndicate

"A work of expansive ambition and breadth. In particular, the sweeping catalogue of proposals to relaunch social democracy…will offer food for thought to progressive thinkers around the world." - Journal of Economics

"An accessible book, challenging but with impressive and topical examples." - Society of Professional Economists

"In his bold new book [Bardhan] explains the rise of authoritarianism, in many cases driven, as he says, by populist demagogues—leaders who claim to embody the popular will and who, though they may emerge in formal democracies, then trample upon the rules and institutions of representative government." - Today's Totalitarianism

"A World of Insecurity well points out the critical issues of a world where democracy loses the postulate of the people’s participation in collective decision-making." - History of Economic Thought and Policy

"A significant contribution which weaves the economic, political, and social questions together…must be read by those interested in the erosion of democracy." - Jindal Global Law Review