The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror [INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR]

New York: PublicAffairs, 2004. 6th printing. Hardcover. vg. Large octavo. XXVI, 303, [3]pp. Original decorative dust-jacket over paper covered boards, with white lettering on spine. Dedication page inscribed and signed by Natan Sharansky. "The Case for Democracy" is a foreign policy manifesto written by one-time Soviet political prisoner and former Israeli Member of the Knesset, Natan Sharansky. Sharansky's friend Ron Dermer is the book's co-author. The book achieved the bestsellers list of the New York Times, Washington Post and Foreign Affairs. Natan Sharansky believes that the truest expression of democracy is the ability to stand in the middle of a town square and express one's views without fear of imprisonment. He should know. A dissident in the USSR, Sharansky was jailed for nine years for challenging Soviet policies. During that time he reinforced his moral conviction that democracy is essential to both protecting human rights and maintaining global peace and security. Sharansky was catapulted onto the Israeli political stage in 1996. In the last eight years, he has served as a minister in four different Israeli cabinets, including a stint as Deputy Prime Minister, playing a key role in government decision making from the peace negotiations at Wye to the war against Palestinian terror. In his views, he has been as consistent as he has been stubborn: Tyranny, whether in the Soviet Union or the Middle East, must always be made to bow before democracy. Drawing on a lifetime of experience of democracy and its absence, Sharansky believes that only democracy can safeguard the well-being of societies. For Sharansky, when it comes to democracy, politics is not a matter of left and right, but right and wrong. This is a passionately argued book from a man who carries supreme moral authority to make the case he does here: that the spread of democracy everywhere is not only possible, but also essential to the survival of our civilization. His argument is sure to stir controversy on all sides; this is arguably the great issue of our times. Upper corner of page XI/XII creased. Dust-jacket, binding and interior in overall very good condition. * Ron Dermer is an American-born Israeli political consultant and diplomat who currently serves as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States.