NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE • SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Time • Foreign Affairs • WBUR • PasteDonald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be … Paste
Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one.
Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die—and how ours can be saved.
Praise for How Democracies Die
“What we desperately need is a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy studies, offer just that.”—The Washington Post
“Where Levitsky and Ziblatt make their mark is in weaving together political science and historical analysis of both domestic and international democratic crises; in doing so, they expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.”—Ezra Klein, Vox
“If you only read one book for the rest of the year, read How Democracies Die. . . .This is not a book for just Democrats or Republicans. It is a book for all Americans. It is nonpartisan. It is fact based. It is deeply rooted in history. . . . The best commentary on our politics, no contest.”—Michael Morrell, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (via Twitter)
“A smart and deeply informed book about the ways in which democracy is being undermined in dozens of countries around the world, and in ways that are perfectly legal.”—Fareed Zakaria, CNN
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Very informative with lots of parallels drawn between the rise of Poland, Hungary, England and U.S. authoritarianism. Key insights into what attracts people to the concept of authoritarianism, and how they are drawn in slowly and methodically. An interesting, informative read for those searching for answers.
This is an important book that should be read. Complacency is dangerous.
The answer is easy. When Democracy, Democrat, and Democratic are used as a cover or ‘front’ for something quite different such as Socialism, Socialists or Socialistic.
The best use and most important and useful was put in place in 1789 providing the direct vote by educated independent citizens to control government at all levels. Something we have yet to try once we rid ourselves of the poseurs.
Demacratic Socialist anti Trump Propaganda. Dont waste your time.
A well-written book, clearly stating how democracies die and exactly how Donald Trump and the spineless Republicans are destroying our democratic system of government.
Everyone who worries about our democracy should read.
This is a very informative and compelling book that needs to be in your ebook library or book library.
I worry !
An important warning of how to examine our current political situation to prevent losing our precious democracy which rests in quite a nebulous state right now no shallow tweets or fake news here a book of substance conveys a dire warning to not accept the prevailing ideas and question our reality an important read
An excellent study of the common factors among countries that have lost their democracies and become autocracies over the last fifty years. The parallels to what’s happening in the US today are frightening. The authors pull no punches in outlining the potential for us to lose our democracy too. Powerful and scary.
This book is a sobering consideration of how democratic governments have, through subtle and even legal steps, evolved into authoritarian states. If American norms–political interactions not legislated but tacitly agreed upon–continue to be eroded we, too, could quickly find ourselves watching the last days of a democratic America.
The authors present the histories of countries that were democracies and became authoritarian, highlighting the strategies used by populist leaders to bring the system into their control. Later chapters consider the history of our political parties as gatekeepers as well as the source of conflict. A sad reality is that consensus has only occurred in America when the racist elements have been appeased.
After leading readers through history the authors turn to today’s political situation, evaluating the administration’s tendency toward authoritarianism. As by the end of 2017, the system of checks and balances appear to be working. BUT, if the Republican party is complicit, the breakdown can and happen here.
In the end, the authors offer how the Democratic party should respond to the crisis–not by imitating the Tea Party methods, or by giving up ‘identity politics’ and letting the disenfranchised flounder, but by committing to consensus politics, forming a broad coalition, and restoring the basic norms that worked in the past: mutual toleration and forbearance.
I think this is one of the most enlightening books I have read recently. I highly recommend it.
I received a free book through Blogging for Books in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.