Download or read book The Spirit of Democracy written by Larry Diamond and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-01-08 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Diamond also dissects the causes of the recent "democratic recession" in critical parts of the world, including the crime-infested oligarchy in Russia, the strong-armed pseudopopulism of Venezuela, the pathological corruption in Nigeria, and the military security state of Pakistan. He traces many of these failed and failing democracies to the curse of oil, which stifles financial and electoral accountability as well as the willingness of established democracies to hold a firm line in support of civil society."