This chapter focuses on two distinctions: between ideology and empiricism and between authoritarianism and liberal democracy. It describes how they are related. It traces the development of this relationship from the American Federalist Papers through the New Deal to the Marshall Plan for European reconstruction and development of the EU. It relates this to the Soviet refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan, the ensuing Cold War, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and the conflict between Russian authoritarianism and the EU. It considers how Russian authoritarianism can be ended.
Part of the book: Democracy - Crises and Changes Across the Globe