The Paradox of Democracy

The Paradox of Democracy captures the deep connection between communication and political culture, from the ancient art of rhetoric and the revolutionary role of newspapers to liberal broadcast media and the toxic misinformation of the digital public sphere.

With clear-eyed analysis, Gershberg and Illing show that our contemporary debates over media, populism, and cancel culture are not too different from the democratic cultural experiences of the past.

They argue that democracy is always perched precipitously on a razor’s edge, now as ever before, and that democratic freedom can be self-negating due to the power of persuasion and the potential for manipulation by authoritarian forces.