Book excerpt: Democracy, which protects freedom and citizens' rights more than any other regime, is in crisis today. In recent years, it has become exhausted in its European center and along its periphery. Citizen trust of the European Union's democratic institutions has been fading. The EU's "normative power" -- its ability to spread its norms and values to other states -- and its "soft power" -- its ability to attract others to its point of view -- are now seen as less likely to achieve the expected goals of spreading democracy within EU countries and creating a ring of well-governed states in neighboring countries. Democracy and its institutions need to adapt to these new challenges. Respected authors and experts offer fresh and creative answers to the challenges of democracy in the European Union and its neighboring countries by offering a transatlantic perspective.