Anxiety about Democracy: Why Now?

Anxiety is rising among mass publics and analysts of governance about whether democratic governments can cope with the policy problems now facing them (Schäfer and Streeck 2013; Berggruen and Gardels 2013). Trust in American government is at a low ebb and more than two thirds of voters in many parts of Europe express dissatisfaction with their country’s direction (Pew 2012a; 2012b). Why is there so much doubt now about the capabilities of representative government–barely two decades after the triumph of democracy was heralded as the end of history?