Civil Democracy Press
An independent Zurich imprint for the books behind Civil Democracy — built, like the ideas it publishes, from the ground up and close to its readers.
Defuse
Antisemitism is surging across the West; inside Israel, democracy and moral standing are unravelling. Defuse argues these are two faces of one crisis — a single root, and a shared cure. Drawing on four decades of research, it makes a claim that sounds too simple to be true: that violence is only the most desperate way to seek efficacy, and that democratic efficacy is still possible in individualized societies — as a platform can prove, if it is used. Escalation persists because everyone waits for someone else to move first. Someone has to go first.
“Few books on Israel/Palestine, antisemitism, and democracy manage to be at once so sober and so imaginative. Defuse connects what is too often kept apart: the post-democratic loss of control, the conspiratorial imagination of antisemitism, the collapse of political efficacy, and the erosion of personal responsibility under conditions of impunity. Scholtz's central insight is both unsettling and hopeful: people do not become better citizens by exhortation alone; they need institutions that make liberty and responsibility real. A bold and original contribution to democratic thought, Jewish political reflection, and the search for a way out of the Israeli–Palestinian trap.” Prof. Uriel Abulof, Ph.D. · Cornell / Tel Aviv University
ISBN 978-3-9525675-2-4 · In print — ships now
One argument, taking shape across four books.
Published under the imprint's own ISBN prefix since 2016 — from the theoretical groundwork to the books that named and applied the idea.
Reclaim Responsibility with Civil Democracy
Civil Democracy
Two Steps to Modernity
Civil Democracy Press is an independent imprint, built — like the ideas it publishes — from the ground up and close to its readers. For now we handle orders directly: write to press@civil-democracy.org with the title you'd like, and we'll arrange a copy and get it to you, wherever you are. Defuse is in print and ships now; the other current titles are printed to order. As the readership grows, the ways to buy will grow with it — but ordering straight from the publisher will always be one of them.
Write to the press →One project, in print and in practice.
Civil Democracy Press is the independent Zurich imprint behind the books that develop Civil Democracy and the social theory around it. It has published under its own imprint since 2016, beginning with Hanno Scholtz's habilitation Two Steps to Modernity. The press and the platform at civil-democracy.org are two arms of one project — putting the idea of a more responsible democracy into people's hands, on the page and in working software.
For journalists and reviewers.
Hanno Scholtz, PD Dr. rer. pol., political and social theorist, developed the concept of “Civil Democracy” and the underlying theory of partitioning representation and democratic efficacy. Grown up in West Berlin, naturalized in Switzerland; economist, political scientist with a dissertation on novel approaches to vote splitting, sociologist with a habilitation on the Two Steps to Modernity in European history; since 2008 lecturer positions across Swiss and German universities; since October 2023 cooperation with Israeli peace NGOs. Author of seven books and many articles, among them Rethinking Democracy(2026, de Gruyter) and “Large-scale democratic policy design” (2025, Policy Design & Practice).
- Press contact: review copies, interviews, and rights — press@civil-democracy.org
- Author photo available on request.
- Shorter and longer biographies (50 and 280 words) available on request.
- Interviews: the author is available in English and German.
Civil Democracy Press
Hanno Scholtz
Seestrasse 565, CH-8038 Zürich, Switzerland
press@civil-democracy.org