The book charts the history of modern democracy at its moments of crisis, from World War I to the economic crash of 2008. It examines how democracy was able to survive a number of serious threats, including the Great Depression, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Watergate, and the fall of Lehman Brothers. Particular attention is paid to politicians and thinkers who had to deal with these crises: Woodrow Wilson, Jawaharlal Nehru, Konrad Adenauer, Francis Fukuyama and Barack Obama. The book is addressed to historians, political scientists, economists, as well as a wide range of readers.