Politics: A Survivor’s Guide How to Stay Engaged without Getting Enraged

'Passionate, clever, and often very funny' Marina Hyde 'A wonderful meditation on populism, nationalism, politics and truth' Rory Stewart ***Chosen as a 2023 Non-Fiction highlight in the Guardian, New Statesman and Irish Times*** We live in an age of fury and confusion. A new crisis erupts before the last one has finished: financial crisis, Brexit, pandemic, war in Ukraine, inflation, strikes. Prime Ministers come and go but politics stays divided and toxic. It is tempting to switch off the news, tune out and hope things will get back to normal. Except, this is the new normal, and our democracy can only work if enough people stay engaged without getting enraged. But how? To answer that question, award-winning journalist Rafael Behr takes the reader on a personal journey from despair at the state of politics to hope that there is a better way of doing things, with insights drawn from three decades as a political commentator and foreign correspondent.

Rafael Behr is a political journalist and broadcaster. He writes a political column for the Guardian. His work has also been published in the Times, the Sunday Times, the New York Times, the Irish Times and Prospect magazine. He is regularly a commentator on the BBC, Sky News and Times Radio. He also hosts the Politics on the Couch podcast.. Rafael was formerly Political Editor for the New Statesman, chief leader writer for the Observer, a business writer for BBC News online and a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, based in Russia and the Baltic region.

Author’ s Note: Introduction: Heart Failure Part One: Exile Chapter 1: The Old Country Chapter 2: Promised Lands Chapter 3: Finest Hours Chapter 4: Jus Soli Part Two: Hypertension Chapter 5: The Potemkin Syndrome Chapter 6: Fracking Democracy Chapter 7: Off Balance Chapter 8: Stupefaction Chapter 9: Join the Dots Part Three: Revolution Chapter 10: The Broken Pendulum Chapter 11: Inside Out Chapter 12: The Arsonists’ Cake Party Part Four: Perspectives Chapter 13: The Revenge of History Chapter 14: The Paradox of Vigilance Epilogue: Rehab Bibliography Acknowledgements Index