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“Empire of Democracy: The Remaking of the West Since the Cold War”

by Simon Reid-Henry

The first panoramic history of the Western world from the 1970s to the present day, Empire of Democracy is the story for those asking how we got to where we are.

Half a century ago, at the height of the Cold War and amidst a world economic crisis, the Western democracies were forced to undergo a profound transformation. Against what some saw as a full-scale “crisis of democracy”— with race riots, anti-Vietnam marches and a wave of worker discontent sowing crisis from one nation to the next— a new political-economic order was devised and the postwar social contract was torn up and written anew.

In this epic narrative of the events that have shaped our own times, Simon Reid-Henry shows how liberal democracy, and western history with it, was profoundly reimagined when the postwar Golden Age ended. As the institutions of liberal rule were reinvented, a new generation of politicians emerged: Thatcher, Reagan, Mitterrand, Kohl. The late twentieth century heyday they oversaw carried the Western democracies triumphantly to victory in the Cold War and into the economic boom of the 1990s. But equally it led them into the fiasco of Iraq, to the high drama of the financial crisis in 2007/8, and ultimately to the anti-liberal surge of our own times.

The present crisis of liberalism enjoins us to revisit these as yet unscripted decades. The era we have all been living through is closing out, democracy is turning on its axis once again. As this panoramic history poignantly reminds us, the choices we make going forward require us first to come to terms with where we have been.

About the Author

1. In his briefing Sunday President Trump defended inaction on the Defense Production Act as a tool to produce materials to combat the Covid-19 pandemic citing the example of THIS country, “We’re a country not based on nationalizing our business. Call a person over in [THIS COUNTRY], ask them how did nationalization of their businesses work out? Not too well.”

A. Cuba
B. Finland
C. Venezuela
D. Sweden

Correct Response: C. Venezuela
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/23/819926854/fact-check-trump-compares-defense-production-act-to-nationalization

2. What European leader is in quarantine after learning a doctor they visited was infected with Covid-19?

A. Boris Johnson
B. Emanuel Macron
C. Sergio Mattarella
D. Angela Merkel

Correct Response: D. Angela Merkel
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-merkel-test/merkel-is-well-awaiting-coronavirus-test-result-spokesman-idUSKBN21A25Y

3. The decision of Canada’s Olympic and Paralymic committees to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic games set to begin July 24th highlighted the troubles for Japan, the games host country. THIS Prime Minister of Japan admitted for the first time that the games might be postponed.

A. George Takei
B. Shinzo Abe
C. Yoshihiko Noda
D. Takahiro Fujimoto

Correct Response: B. Shinzo Abe
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52000044

4. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo made a surprise visit to Kabul in an effort to resuscitate a deal with the Taliban. He met with President Ashraf Ghani and his political challenger Abdullah Abdullah to press for compliance with an agreement cobbled together by THIS United States Special Representative.

A. Zalmay Khalilizad
B. Richard Holbrook
C. Michael McFaul
D. Saul Berenson

Correct Response: A. Zalmay Khalilizad
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban/pompeo-meets-afghan-political-rivals-during-visit-to-kabul-idUSKBN21A0N5

5. Brazilians favor the tougher response of governors to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are answering the fast spreading virus in the country with measures like store closings which THIS President of Brazil calls “job killers.”

A. Jair Bolsonaro
B. Antonio Banderas
C. Nicolas Maduro
D. Alberto Fernandez

Correct Response: A. Jair Bolsonaro
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazilians-side-with-governors-over-bolsonaro-on-virus-response-poll-idUSKBN21A27O

6. Opponents of the Prime Minister in THIS country are petitioning the Supreme Court to block actions under the guise of anti-Coronavirus measures that boost his political position including restraint of Parliament’s power and restrict court activities, which forestalls the prosecution of the Prime Minister on corruption charges.

A. Nigeria
B. Lithuania
C. Israel
D. Puerto Rico

Correct Response: C. Israel
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/world/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-supreme-court.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

7. The MH17 trial of four men in the Hague – three Russians and one Ukrainian, senior officials in pro-Russian militias in Ukraine – has been adjourned until June to give the defense more time to prepare. What was MH17?

A. A Polish airliner flying from Kiev to Warsaw hijacked last July.
B. A Dutch airliner shot down by a Russian missile battery in Eastern Ukraine.
C. A German airliner that was seized by Ukrainian separtists in Donetsk.
D. A Malaysian airliner shot down by a Russian missile battery in Eastern Ukraine.

Correct Response: D. A Malaysian airliner shot down by a Russian missile battery in Eastern Ukraine.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-mh17/dutch-mh17-trial-suspended-until-june-8-to-give-defense-more-time-to-prepare-idUSKBN21A1VS

8. What city is the capital of the country that has become the global epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. It hit over 53,000 infections and 4,800 deaths over the weekend, surpassing the pandemic records of China.

A. Seoul
B. Rome
C. Berlin
D. London

Correct Response: B. Rome
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-center-lessons.html

9. The Supreme Leader of Iran rejected U.S. Covid-19 aid and claimed the virus “is specifically built for Iran using the genetic data of Iranians.” Who is the Supreme Leader of Iran?

A. Hasan Rouhani
B. Mamoud Ahmadinejad
C. Ali Khamenei
D. Javad Zarif

Correct Response: C. Ali Khamenei
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/iran-leader-refuses-cites-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-200322145122752.html

10. President Trump sent a letter to this leader seeking better relations and offering support in the fight against Covid-19.

A. Kim Jong-un
B. Xi Jinping
C. Carrie Lam
D. Lee Hsien Loong

Correct Response: A. Kim Jong-un
https://apnews.com/1723eb67c3f9822b8b4f3d0dea38f012

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