Sovereign Decisions

On the Rise and Fall of Democracy
Sovereign Decisions / Souveräne Entscheidungen
On the Rise and Fall of Democracy
Offering insights into how to avert the demise of democracy
How did parliamentary democracy emerge in England, the USA, and France? What were the arguments made by the proponents of this system? And why did this change take place relatively late in Germany?

To answer these questions, Philipp Lepenies looks at a number of key events in the history of democracy. His protagonists include the English Levellers movement, the American Founding Father James Madison, and the Frenchman Abbé Sieyès, as well as Georg Forster in Mainz, Friedrich Jucho in...
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How did parliamentary democracy emerge in England, the USA, and France? What were the arguments made by the proponents of this system? And why did this change take place relatively late in Germany?

To answer these questions, Philipp Lepenies looks at a number of key events in the history of democracy. His protagonists include the English Levellers movement, the American Founding Father James Madison, and the Frenchman Abbé Sieyès, as well as Georg Forster in Mainz, Friedrich Jucho in Frankfurt, and Hugo Preuß in Weimar. By studying the development of democracy, we can glean insights into how to avert the threat of its demise – at a time when sovereign power is increasingly deciding against the system that grants it the highest political power.
2025, 264 pages
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Philipp Lepenies, born in 1971, is an economist and Professor of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin.

Philipp Lepenies, born in 1971, is an economist and Professor of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin.


OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Prohibition and Restriction
Year of Publication: 2022
Philipp LepeniesYear of Publication: 2022
A reflex is paralysing the political debates on climate change. As soon as it deals with measures that demand restraint, the outrage is great: Speed limit? Eco-dictatorship! Veggie Day? There goes that T-bone steak! Yet prohibition and restraint are tried and tested instruments for conserving resources and overcoming ecological crises.

Philipp Lepenies examines the...
The Power of the Single Number
Year of Publication: 2013
Philipp LepeniesYear of Publication: 2013
At first glance, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is but a number, a figure expressed in Dollars, Euros or any other currency. It measures the value of all goods and services that are...
Rights sold to:

English world rights (Columbia UP), Chinese simplex rights (China Renmin UP)