How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship is a 2019 nonfiction book by Ece Temelkuran, discussing how democracies backslide into dictatorships. It was written in English and published in the United Kingdom by 4th Estate.
She outlines the steps on how democracies gradually unravel and discusses this in the context of the rise of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. [1] Temelkuran's argument is that the same decay of democracy that happened in Turkey can happen in countries in the West. [2]
Hannah Lucinda Smith of The Times wrote that the book is "highly readable and vibrates with outrage" although she criticises the book for mainly focusing on right-wing populism and not adequately describing left wing populism. [3]
Satish Deshpande of The Hindu argued that there are parallels to the rule of Narendra Modi, using the word "saptapadi" to refer to the processes Temelkuran outlined. The book does not discuss Modi. [4]
The Bharatiya Janata Party is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP was born out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP is aligned with right-wing politics and has close ideological and organisational links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right paramilitary organisation. Its policies adhere to Hindutva, a Hindu nationalist ideology. As of January 2024, it is the country's biggest political party in terms of representation in the Parliament of India as well as state legislatures.
Narendra Damodardas Modi is an Indian politician who has served as the prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the member of parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister outside the Indian National Congress.
The term "illiberal democracy" describes a governing system that hides its "nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures". There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy, but it is important to have a term to recognize that some governments attempt to look like democracies while suppressing opposing views.
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency across the country by citing internal and external threats to the country.
Nişantaşı is a residential quarter in the Şişli district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Nişantaşı quarter has four neighbourhoods: Teşvikiye, Maçka, Osmanbey and Pangaltı. The centre of the Nişantaşı quarter is at the neighbourhood of Teşvikiye, which is separated from the neighbourhood of Osmanbey to the west by the Vali Konağı Avenue and Rumeli Avenue. Osmanbey is separated from the Pangaltı neighbourhood further to the west by the busy Halaskargazi Avenue in Şişli. The neighbourhood of Maçka is immediately to the south of Teşvikiye. Nişantaşı is a popular shopping quarter, full of boutiques, department stores, cafés, pubs, restaurants and night clubs. Many of the streets are still full of fine 19th and early 20th-century apartment blocks. Directly to the south lies the large and wooded Maçka Park, and to the east the Beşiktaş district.
Shashi Deshpande is an Indian novelist. She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri Award in 1990 and 2009 respectively.
Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: elections between or among multiple distinct political parties; a separation of powers into different branches of government; the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society; a market economy with private property; universal suffrage; and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, and political freedoms for all citizens. Substantive democracy refers to substantive rights and substantive laws, which can include substantive equality, the equality of outcome for subgroups in society. Liberal democracy emphasizes the separation of powers, an independent judiciary, and a system of checks and balances between branches of government. Multi-party systems with at least two persistent, viable political parties are characteristic of liberal democracies.
Cihangir is an affluent neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beyoğlu, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,739 (2022). It is located between Taksim Square and Kabataş. It has many narrow streets, two parks, and many street cafes especially in and around Akarsu Yokuşu Sokağı.
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy is a non-fiction book by Indian historian Ramachandra Guha. First published by HarperCollins in August 2007.
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military. States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have some times been characterized as "hybrid democracies", "hybrid regimes" or "competitive authoritarian" states.
David Grégoire Van Reybrouck is a Belgian cultural historian, archaeologist and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. He has received several awards for his works, which include Congo: The Epic History of a People and Revolusi.
Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and author. She was a columnist for Milliyet (2000–2009) and Habertürk, and a presenter on Habertürk TV (2010–2011). She was fired from Habertürk after writing articles critical of the government, especially its handling of the December 2011 Uludere massacre. She was twice named Turkey's "most read political columnist". Her columns have also been published in international media such as The Guardian, The New York Times, La Stampa, Der Spiegel, Internazionale and Le Monde Diplomatique.
Narendra Modi, the 14th prime minister of India since 2014, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality, image, background and policies.
Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji is a book written by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India and a pioneering scientist. Co-authored by Professor Arun Tiwari and published by HarperCollins India, the book describes Kalam's spiritual experiences with and reflections on Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the guru and spiritual leader of the BAPS Hindu organization. Kalam recounted the spiritual transformation he experienced during his fourteen-year association with Pramukh Swami, described the inspiration he obtained from Pramukh Swami's leadership of BAPS, and expressed his vision for a society in which science and spirituality are fused. Kalam stated that he saw in Pramukh Swami "a true embodiment of transcendence," and titled the book to reflect his belief that Pramukh Swami is gunatit, a term signifying transcendence of ephemeral qualities and the modes of nature.
The premiership of Narendra Modi began 26 May 2014 with his swearing-in as the Prime Minister of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He became the 14th Prime Minister of India, succeeding Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress. Modi's first cabinet consisted of 45 ministers, 25 fewer than the previous United Progressive Alliance government. A total of 21 ministers were added to the council of ministers on 9 November 2014.
Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World is Tom Burgis's non-fiction book about the combined effects of globalization and worldwide forces of corruption, published in 2020. The book uses narrative nonfiction and true crime tropes to detail and explore global kleptocractic effects and consequences – with Kazakhstan in particular "featur[ing] heavily in Burgis's investigation" – as well as how practices of corruption entrench themselves via shell corporations, the dark money banking system, and political lobbying. Burgis anchors the book with the stories of four individuals, which the Financial Times described as "elegantly woven together and delivered in a form that makes the technicalities of finance accessible to the non-expert." On 9 September 2021, it was reported that mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), parent Eurasian Resources Group, had taken legal action against the publishers in respect of claims made in the book that was later dismissed.
Ajay Gudavarthy is a political theorist, analyst and columnist in India. He is associate professor in political science at Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the most prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Hindutva pop, often referred to as H-pop, is Indian pop music that promotes Hindutva or Hindu nationalist ideas. The music has become increasingly popular in the 2010s and 2020s and frequently includes lyrics targeting Muslims in India. The songs have sometimes been played on loudspeakers by Hindu groups during violent attacks on Muslims.