26 is an increasingly influential web review site, so named because of the 26 letters of the alphabet. This is Tim Rich’s take on Democracy Kills: What’s So Good About Having The Vote.

Many of us have grown up with the truism that democracy is the preferable form of government in our time. For some, democracy is synonymous with progress. Or as Churchill put it, ‘It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried’. In this new book, BBC World Affairs correspondent Humphrey Hawksley questions this simplistic notion, speaking to people around the world about their views on politics, power and representation. While some would forego essentials to maintain their precious vote, others say they would trade it for security, water or electricity. How should we respond to evidence that attempts to democratise often go hand-in-hand with increasing internal conflict? Do events in Afghanistan reveal the tough realities of the road to democratic freedom or the results of imposing the wrong form of government on a country? Would you choose to live and vote in Haiti rather than authoritarian Cuba? This is a well-considered, cosmopolitan rumination on complex but vital matters.   Tim Rich

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