Das Licht, das erlosch

After the end of the Cold War, the liberal-democratic model of the West became the only option. Today, democracies around the world are crumbling before our eyes, eroded by populism, nationalism, and a departure from liberal values - particularly in Eastern Europe. Why has the West lost its allure? In their brilliant analysis, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes demonstrate that the proclaimed "end of history" actually ushered in an era of imitation. For three decades, the East was forced to mimic the West, sinking into feelings of inadequacy, dependency, and loss of identity. Meanwhile, the model has lost its moral credibility - creating a dangerous vacuum of values.

"A groundbreaking work on politics since the end of the Cold War that compels us to question previous beliefs and reassess the complex dialectic of liberalism and antiliberalism." - George Soros

"It is a book that tempts one to underline something on almost every page and make notes. With the paradigm of imitation, the authors have found an engaging toolkit to reveal the mass psychological processes of our present. The wealth of surprising insights and observations is considerable, and the detailed look at shifts in mentality is not obscured by the same old anti-fascist grand concepts and isms." - Die Zeit, Adam Soboczynski

"Ivan Krastev is one of those philosophers who are also storytellers; his points, jokes, and anecdotes are signposts as he wanders from one thought to the next... Together with New York legal philosopher Stephen Holmes, he has just published a book titled 'The Light That Went Out: An Accounting.' And what a book it is." - Der Spiegel, Lothar Gorris

"Ivan Krastev is one of the great European thinkers of our time.".