Reviews of 'Democracy beyond Elections'
Review in LSE Review of Books, May 2020
'Dimova’s contribution to the field is connected with an alternative measure of accountability and the creation of a rich database and analytical codebook.'
'Dimova’s research can be considered on two levels: first, as a contribution to the revitalisation of democracy studies; and secondly, as a book published at a critical time due to the developments in the US political scene and the empowering of populists in the name of democracy'
Review in Democratisation, December 2019
The main strength of the book is that it provides a theoretical innovation based on original empirical research, and contributes to the current literature on democratic decline through its focus on the significance of media scandals in contemporary politics. The author’s wide-ranging command of the field puts her in good stead to integrate and refine the literature, offering both a diagnosis and remedy for democracy through the prism of accountability.
Review in Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, February 2020
'This lecturer in politics at the University of Winchester in the United Kingdom has clearly been influenced by her eminent educational background as a Harvard University and University of Cambridge alumna. Published in a perfect moment when the actuality and pressing issues of fake news and hate speech, as well as other forms of political and social behavior manifested through the media pose real threat to democracy, society and even security, the book successfully delivers the dichotomy of such issues and the contrasting situation of manifold accessible data that could foster democratic awareness and action.'
Book Endorsements
“Given the current attention on fake news, the focus of the book on the role of media in democracies, and on the accountability following media reports, is extremely pertinent. The fears about the backsliding from democratic norms in the former post-communist block also make this an important perspective. (Frank Vibert, Senior Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)
“Gergana Dimova’s book is well timed, analytically sound, and theoretically creative. It is a much needed study given the dearth of writing on how governments (authoritarian or not) are held to account beyond the ballot box.” (Stanislav Markus, Associate Professor, University of South Carolina, USA)
“The book brings a distinct added value to democratic theory by discerning a phenomenon Dimova aptly names ‘accountability turn’. Her discussion of public accountability in electoral authoritarianism, which has come to afflict also mature democracies, is extremely timely. The masterful review of existing scholarship also makes this book a perfect teaching tool.” (Albena Azmanova, Reader in Political Theory, University of Kent, UK)
“In an age of fake news and deep fake, this book couldn't be more timely. Gergana Dimova takes a deep dive into the mechanics of media scandals, and various responses to them as a way to gage how democracies cope with the fracturing of electorates and the rise of multiple medias even as democracy itself comes under increasing pressure from populism and authoritarianism. In doing so, she assesses both the threat to and state of democracy in our highly mediatized era, and offers a far more resilient model of democratic responses to media scandals than we usually imagine even as her careful reading suggests the scope and endurance of the danger democracy is facing today.” (James Martel, Department of Political Science, San Francisco State University, USA)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Insightful, unconventional, topical.
If you are interested in a thoughtful analysis of media, accountability and political scandals, this is the book to read. It is very unconventional as it is not your run-of-the-mill recycling of usual theories. The biggest achievement of the book is that it considers existing explanations (and is remarkably broad-sighted of them) and still offers a NEW way to see the relationship between media scandals, how incumbents respond to them and how institutions react.
If you want to understand the Trump scandals, despite not being on American politics, this book provides many useful leads that you will not find in media or even academic analysis.
Thoroughly recommend!!
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A real gem!
This is the only book that I am aware of that provides a plausible and well-thought out link between media scandals, various investigations and the crisis of democracy. Usually, in a highly fragmented scholarly field, media scholars talk about media scandals, comparative scholars talk about holding incumbents to account (by Congress, parliament, courts, etc), and political theorists talk about the crisis of democracy. But NEVER has the boundary between these sub-fields been crossed in such a transparent and conscious way. The book gracefully overcomes this unnecessary (in this case) disciplinary stumbling block. It is full of insights and very thought-provoking. A real gem!