Stars for POLITICAL ORDER AND POLITICAL DECAY

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For those of you who like your history and politics on the meaty side, the wait is nearly over for Francis Fukuyama’s POLITICAL ORDER AND POLITICAL DECAY: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy.

In this second volume (after THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ORDER), Fukuyama examines how societies and their political institutions have developed, from the French Revolution to the so-called Arab Spring up to the deep dysfunctions of contemporary American politics.

Fukuyama NYTBR Page

POLITICAL ORDER AND POLITICAL DECAY made the cover of this past weekend’s New York Times Book Review, and has received FOUR outstanding starred reviews:

“Fukuyama’s erudition is complemented by lucid, graceful prose and an inveterate even-handedness that fairly assesses liberal, conservative, and Marxist traditions; giving material influences their due without lapsing into economic reductionism and treating politics and governance as an autonomous realm with its own ideological and institutional dynamics. His superb synthesis of political science and history will be useful to experts as well as students and laypeople.”
Publishers Weekly, starred review

“In his companion to THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ORDER, the deeply engaged political scientist offers a compelling historical overview of a useful template for the retooling of institutions in the modern state. Moving from the French Revolution onward and using myriad examples from Prussia to Nigeria, the author lays out the evolution of three essential political institutions: the state, the rule of law and democratic accountability. Systematic, thorough and even hopeful fodder for reform-minded political observers.”   Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Fukuyama studied with Harvard University theorist Samuel Huntington, and his work is a conscious attempt to build on and refine Huntington’s groundbreaking 1968 Political Order in Changing Societies. A book as rich and well considered as Fukuyama’s has much to offer both generalists and specialists. An impressive effort.”   Library Journal, starred review

“Strikingly ambitious and provocative.”   Booklist, starred review

POLITICAL ORDER AND POLITICAL DECAY will be available from Farrar, Straus & Giroux on September 30, 2014.

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