[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-38705-en":3,"doc-seo-38705-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},38705,1374391974585,"Genevieve","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",2,"Literature","The Inner Enemies of Democracy","Examining threats to democratic life, The Inner Enemies of Democracy traces how freedom’s paradoxes generate vulnerabilities from within political communities. The text structures its analysis through debates over freedom, internal and external enemies, and the moral risks of political intervention. It follows historical waves of political messianism and conflict—ending in a sustained focus on the tyranny of individuals, neoliberal effects, populism, xenophobia, and prospects for renewing democracy.","The Inner Enemies of Democracy  \nTzvetan Todorov  \nTHE INNER ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY  \nTranslated by Andrew Brown  \npolity  \nFirst published in French as Les ennemis intimes de la démocratie © Editions Robert Laffont/Versilio, 2012  \nThis English edition © Polity Press, 2014  \nPolity Press  \n65 Bridge Street  \nCambridge CB2 1UR, UK  \nPolity Press  \n350 Main Street  \nMalden, MA 02148, USA  \nAll rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.  \nISBN-13: 978-0-7456-8574-8  \nA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.  \nLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Todorov, Tzvetan, 1939-  \n[Ennemis intimes de la démocratie. English]  \nThe inner enemies of democracy / Tzvetan Todorov.  \npages cm  \nISBN 978-0-7456-8574-8 (hardback) --ISBN 0-7456-8574-9 (hardback)  \n1. Democracy. 2. World politics. I. Title.  \nJC423.T6213 2014  \n321.8--dc23  \n2014012440  \nTypeset in 11 on 13 Sabon by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by T.J. International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall  \nThe publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.  \nEvery effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.  \nFor further information on Polity, [visit our website: politybooks.com](visit our website: politybooks.com)  \nContents  \n1 Democracy and its Discontents 1  \nThe paradoxes of freedom 1  \nExternal and internal enemies 4  \nDemocracy threatened by its own hubris 7  \n2 An Ancient Controversy 12  \nThe main characters 12  \nPelagius: will and perfection 14  \nAugustine: the unconscious and original sin 19  \nThe outcome of the debate 22  \n3 Political Messianism 29  \nThe revolutionary moment 29  \nThe first wave: revolutionary and colonial wars 33  \nThe second wave: the Communist project 37  \nThe third wave: imposing democracy by bombs 45  \nThe Iraq war 48  \nThe internal damage: torture 50  \nThe war in Afghanistan 53  \nThe temptations of pride and power 57  \nThe war in Libya: the decision 59  \nThe war in Libya: the implementation 62  \nIdealists and realists 67  \nPolitics in the face of morality and justice 71  \nvi The Inner Enemies of Democracy  \n4 The Tyranny of Individuals 78  \nProtecting individuals 78  \nExplaining human behaviour 81  \nCommunism and neoliberalism 87  \nThe fundamentalist temptation 91  \nNeoliberalism’s blind spots 97  \nFreedom and attachment 101  \n5 The Effects of Neoliberalism 104  \nBlame it on science? 104  \nThe law retreats 109  \nLoss of meaning 113  \nManagement techniques 116  \nThe power of the media 125  \nFreedom of public speech 128  \nThe limits of freedom 134  \n6 Populism and Xenophobia 139  \nThe rise of populism 139  \nPopulist discourse 142  \nNational identity 147  \nDown with multiculturalism: the German case 150  \nBritain and France 153  \nThe debate about headscarves 156  \nOne debate can hide another 162  \nRelations with foreigners 166  \nLiving together better 168  \n7 The Future of Democracy 173  \nDemocracy, dream and reality 173  \nThe enemy within us 179  \nTowards renewal? 184  \nNotes 189  \nIndex 197  \n1  \nDemocracy and its Discontents  \nThe paradoxes of freedom  \nThe question of freedom entered my life early on. Until the age of twenty-four, I lived in a totalitarian country, Communist Bulgaria. The main thing everyone around me complained about was the shortages ","cbCaibf0zUSKijZP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibf0zUSKijZP","pdf",559435,1,210,"English","en",105,"# Contents\n## Democracy and its Discontents\n## An Ancient Controversy\n## Political Messianism\n## The Tyranny of Individuals\n## The Effects of Neoliberalism\n## Populism and Xenophobia\n## The Future of Democracy","[{\"question\":\"What does the book mean by the “inner enemies” of democracy?\",\"answer\":\"It frames democratic vulnerability as arising not only from external forces but also from internal dynamics—paradoxes of freedom, moral temptations, and political behaviors that corrode democratic life.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book organize its argument about democracy’s threats?\",\"answer\":\"It follows a structured progression: freedom’s paradoxes, historical and theological debates, political messianism in successive waves, then shifts to neoliberalism, populism, xenophobia, and finally renewal.\"},{\"question\":\"Which themes are emphasized in the later chapters?\",\"answer\":\"Later sections highlight the tyranny of individuals, the social and cultural effects attributed to neoliberalism, the rise of populism and xenophobia, and the prospects for democracy’s future.\"}]",1783071220,323,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"the-inner-enemies-of-democracy","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,52,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,46,49],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-inner-enemies-of-democracy/38705/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":40,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-07","2026-07-03",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What does the book mean by the “inner enemies” of democracy?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"It frames democratic vulnerability as arising not only from external forces but also from internal dynamics—paradoxes of freedom, moral temptations, and political behaviors that corrode democratic life.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"How does the book organize its argument about democracy’s threats?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It follows a structured progression: freedom’s paradoxes, historical and theological debates, political messianism in successive waves, then shifts to neoliberalism, populism, xenophobia, and finally renewal.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"Which themes are emphasized in the later chapters?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Later sections highlight the tyranny of individuals, the social and cultural effects attributed to neoliberalism, the rise of populism and xenophobia, and the prospects for democracy’s future.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},80,"literature",{"id":51,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]