Freedom and order photographer

This famous saying in the title comes from Huntington, a contemporary American political scientist. It is a classic summary of order and freedom, and it is also a point repeatedly emphasized in many works.

Many people know Huntington because of the book Clash of Civilizations, but in fact Huntington's The Third Wave: The Democratization Wave at the End of the 20th Century is also world-famous.

If we look at some old photos or movies from the 1970s and 1980s, we will always marvel at the all-round differences between people at that time and people now, from dressing up to walking, sitting and lying down, from reading to talking. This great change is more or less related to the "third wave" described in Huntington's book.

The third wave in the book refers to the wave of democratization from 1974 to 1990. During this period, about 30 countries have realized the transition from non-democratic political system to democratic political system.

However, this change is not smooth. After the transition to democratic political system, many countries have reversed and returned to non-democratic political system. There is an image metaphor for this resurgence in the book. "The process of democratization is often a process of taking two steps forward and taking one step back."

Democratization was a beautiful thing at that time, but it was difficult to operate. Although there are many books about democratization, few of them are widely circulated. Either the theory is too abstruse, or the subject matter is too serious, some conclusions are specious, and there is no independent point of view at all.

But this book is an exception. This book is not a serious political book. The author Huntington did not elaborate a lot of theories in his book, but continued his usual comparative analysis method, systematically expounded the democratization process of 30 countries, summarized their common characteristics, and finally put forward measures to make democratic regimes last, and thought about the future direction of democratization.

This book, like the author's other books, was controversial as soon as it was published because of its sensitive topic and sharp angle, and it was inevitably missed out on various awards. It has also been included in the list of banned books in many countries. But in the end, because of the author's sharp analytical skills and unique observation perspective, he went down in history and lasted for a long time.