“Modern democratic institutions in many jurisdictions are under threat. Whether it be rising populism, or the disinformation spread via unregulated social media, the systemic stresses are real and growing. These challenges are crystallized within Peter Biro’s beautifully edited “Constitutional Democracy Under Stress: A Time for Heroic Citizenship”, from Mosaic Press. Several leading democratic experts and practitioners have poignantly offered their views within the book’s pages, identifying candid reflections, problems, and solutions for the reader to absorb. The book should be required reading for any citizen interested in where democratic society is headed as we collectively march further into the 21st Century.”

“In a time of transformative change, democracies appear fragile and the cracks in the underlying institutions more visible. Democracy is a grand human project that deserves our reflection, the voices and visions of all, if we are to address our common vulnerability with courage and boldness.”

What if liberalism is too pragmatic to be transcendent? What if it can’t compete with the fundamentalisms that humans are drawn to in uncertain times? I’ve lost sleep over those questions – until reading this remarkable book. The contributors not only call for “heroic citizenship”, they show us how to practice it. Hence the new question that keeps me awake: Do we care enough about democracy to role-model it?

“I’m so relieved to read this book during this moment in our political climate when a guide to our democracy is so desperately needed. The book is a highly structured work, and Peter Biro’s accessible style makes this an excellent introduction for novice readers, as well as a trusty handbook for experts and political science mavens.”

“A most timely and significant book. Democracy – its values, institutions, principles – is everywhere under threat. Canada has a distinguishable role to play in the protection of the liberal democratic order and this book can help inspire that understanding and action.”