The Fear of Shrinking Numbers

Issue Date January 2020
Volume 31
Issue 1
Page Numbers 66-74
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The fear of being outnumbered is deeply rooted in politics. This fear is particularly strong in democratic politics, where it means being outvoted. This article argues that the way in which the shrinking ethnocultural majorities of today will try to preserve their power and identity in the face of population decline and increasing migration will go far toward defining the future character of European democracy, and it could affect the survival of democratic regimes.

About the Author

Ivan Krastev is chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and a New York Times contributing writer.

View all work by Ivan Krastev