How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future

Description: How does a democracy die? What can we do to save our own? What lessons does history teach us? In the 21st century democracy is threatened like never before. Drawing insightful lessons from across history - from Pinochet's murderous Chilean regime to Erdogan's quiet dismantling in Turkey - Levitsky and Ziblatt explain why democracies fail, how leaders like Trump subvert them today and what each of us can do to protect our democratic rights. 'A useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy - and how quickly those things can erode when we're not paying attention' President Barack Obama 'A must-read' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times 'Excellent, scholarly, readable, alarming and level-headed' Nick Cohen, Observer 'The greatest of the many merits of Levitsky and Ziblatt's How Democracies Die is their rejection of western exceptionalism. They tell inspiring stories I had not heard before. Excellent' Nick Cohen, Observer 'Provocative, timely. One of my favourite reads this year' Elif Shafak, author of The Bastard of Istanbul 'Anyone who is concerned about the future of democracy should read this brisk, accessible book. Anyone who is not concerned should definitely read it' Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Why Nations Fail 'A lucid and essential guide to what can happen' Jennifer Szalai, New York Times 'We owe the authors a debt of thanks for bringing their deep understanding to bear on the central political issue of the day' Francis Fukuyama, author of Political Order and Political Decay 'In this brilliant historical synthesis, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how the actions of elected leaders around the world have paved the road to democratic failure, and why the United States is now vulnerable to this same downward spiral. This book should be widely and urgently read as a clarion call to restore the shared beliefs and practices-beyond our formal constitution - that constitute the essential 'guardrails' for preserving democracy' Larry Diamond, author of The Spirit of Democracy

Review: What's the worst thing to happen to US democracy recently? Most answers to that question start and end with Donald Trump. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, though as horrified by Trump as anyone, try to take a wider view. This book looks to history to provide a guide for defending democratic norms when they are under threat, and finds that it is possible to fight back. Provocative and readable. -- David Runciman * The Guardian * We owe the authors a debt of thanks for bringing their deep understanding to bear on the central political issue of the day. -- Francis Fukuyama, author of Political Order and Political Decay With great energy and integrity [Levitsky and Ziblatt] apply their expertise to the current problems of the United States. -- Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt is a useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy - and how quickly those things can erode when we're not paying attention * President Barack Obama * Anyone who is concerned about the future of democracy should read this brisk, accessible book. Anyone who is not concerned should definitely read it. -- Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Why Nations Fail





Author Biography: Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are Professors of Government at Harvard University and have spent their careers studying democracies in crisis. Levitsky is the author of Competitive Authoritarianism and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. Ziblatt is the author, most recently, of Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy. A New York Times op-ed written by the pair - Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy? - was shared over 200k times in December 2016.

Promotional Information: Two Harvard professors explain the stages in which governments collapse - and how we can prevent this.