Democracy Beyond Elections

“The book is important in light of numerous recent examples of challenges for free speech and the media community in Europe and beyond. … It will be of interest nevertheless to follow up whether media allegations have transformative power for electoral outcomes – what makes them count in voters’ choices – timing, scale, accumulation, the accuser or the accountability forum they enfold on or else.” (Mila Moshelova, East European Politics, Vol. 38 (4), 2022)

“This is an important and timely contribution to the revitalisation of democracy studies … . This book can be read by both academic and non-academic audiences, as it situates government accountability in an era when the media performs such a significant role. … it can also be a valuable tool for populists.” (Georges Kordas, LSE Review of Books, blogs.lse.ac.uk, May 20, 2020)

“The book is an insightful and very well-researched contribution to understanding democratic promises and challenges on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dimova’s nuanced perspective on democracy as finding itself between crisis and transformation provides both a warning … and reason for optimism that the supply of accountability forums is not just an outcome but an opportunity. The book can thus claim to develop a separate research field that forges an integrated middle ground between models of crisis and transformation of democracy.” (Rumena Filipova, Democratization, December 17, 2