The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order

How democracies compete with autocracies to bias international order in their favor—and why democracies are losing

Winner of the 2025 Grawemeyer Award for World Order

“Owen makes a powerful case that the fate of American democracy hinges on the health and welfare of other democracies.”—Foreign Affairs

It is well known, and much discussed, that liberal democracy is in trouble worldwide. Much of this discussion focuses on conditions within individual countries: their inequalities of wealth,...