Reactions to Extremism in Interwar Europe
Given the rise of terrorism and the persistence of extremism in both established and new democracies today, continued research and dialogue on the defense of democracy are necessary for its preservation.
How does an established democracy deal with threats to its stability and continued existence when those threats come from legitimate political parties within the system? In Defending Democracy, political scientist Giovanni Capoccia studies key European nations between World Wars I and II which survived such democratic crises. He offers case studies of Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and Finland as success stories, as well as analyzes the two most well-known cases of European democratic breakdown-Germany and Italty. Capoccia alerts the reader to the need for continuing research on defending democracy and points out the rise of terrorism and the persistence of extremism among political parties not only in stable democracies but also the new democracies of the Soviet Union.