Excerpts

During the course of hiring an assistant to write a book about Indonesia torn between two forces, Islmization and globalization, journalist Sadanand Dhume met Herri Nurdi, managing editor of a fundamentalist magazine “Sabili.” The book, “My Friend the Fanantic: Travels with an Indonesian Islamist” combines first-person travel narrative and reporting on the world’s most populous Muslim nation enduring rapid transition from democratic moderation to rigid intolerance.

Appreciation for democracy runs deep in countries around the globe, but instability can present challenges for the system of governance. “The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World” analyzes the elements of democracy and how they have transformed global relations, the prospects for democracy in specific regions and ways to revitalize the system even in nations where regression has emerged. Renewing democracy requires education and mobilization of citizens themselves, argues Larry Diamond, senior...

Containment is a powerful tool for powerful nations and remains a potent strategy for preserving democracy, argues Ian Shapiro, Sterling Professor of Political Science and director of the MacMillan Center at Yale University. After the 9/11 attacks, the US panicked. The Bush administration quickly abandoned a longstanding US policy of containment without debate or approval from Congress, and instead relied on unilateralism and preemptive attack. As a result, the US has squandered resources and lost credibility around the globe. Containment...

Entrepreneurs in the emerging economies of India and China demonstrate that they have the money, the education, the management skills and the creativity to build successful firms. In “Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours,” Tarun Khanna, the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School, compares the two nations’ governance, information accessibility, infrastructure, rural challenges, soft power and foreign ties. The comparative analysis offers insights into the distinct styles and...