ABSTRACT
Leo Tolstoy's epic, War and Peace, 'hailed as the greatest novel of all time', depicts Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and its effects on Tsarist society. His vivid and brutal portrayal of war is of actions that are barbaric, defy human reason and remain essentially pointless – aside, perhaps, from the realisation that the human spirit can overcome adversity and even the most brutal acts of aggression. Janet Daley's query and associated concerns about America's path towards protectionism and isolationism are also germane to the future of democracy which, according to Freedom House, a non-partisan Washington think tank, now also finds itself in peril globally. The decline in global democracy may be attributable to a combination of factors: a shift in American foreign policy – military and economic – from global leadership to national priorities, continuing inequalities and economic hardships and the weakening of global structures to protect civil society.
