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How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky
jcoryv's review
5.0
I hate it when people say this, but everybody should read this book.
It provides historical examples of how democracies have ended, but also how democracies have survived adversity.
After providing a historical foundation, the book looks at democracy in America today. Given the historical examples, it becomes clear that American democracy is at a watershed moment.
For our democracy to continue, we have to do something that has never been done before: create a democracy for a multicultural/multiracial society where no one group holds the majority of the power. This is going to require compromise by both political parties, which may require the GOP to reinvent itself.
It provides historical examples of how democracies have ended, but also how democracies have survived adversity.
After providing a historical foundation, the book looks at democracy in America today. Given the historical examples, it becomes clear that American democracy is at a watershed moment.
For our democracy to continue, we have to do something that has never been done before: create a democracy for a multicultural/multiracial society where no one group holds the majority of the power. This is going to require compromise by both political parties, which may require the GOP to reinvent itself.
kojali's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
"Democratic breakdown doesn't need a blueprint. Rather, as Peru's example suggests, it can be the result of a sequence of unanticipated events - an escalating tit-for-tat between a demagogic, norm-breaking leader and a threated political establishment." (75)
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt is a chilling account of the state of democracy in the United States. Supplemented by numerous examples of regimes in Latin America and Central/Eastern Europe, the book identifies warning signs in autocratic politicans, their tactics - both obvious and covert - to subvert democracy, and what the voting population can do to prevent autocrats from assuming power. While the book discusses several moments/periods in American history, it primarily focuses on the rise of Donald Trump to power, and how he has exhibited the same warning signs and outright autocratic behavior.
I was curious to see how well this book would hold up - it was published in 2018, just a year into Trump's term. If anything, this book has just gotten more frightening with time, especially in light of the violent insurrection on January 6th. I've learned that the authors published another book, Tyranny of the Minority, just last year, and I will absolutely read that soon. But this book was profound. I treated it like a class - I had a whole annotation system and learned SO much here. But it's one of those classes you love going to! It was very digestible and didn't seek to do too much. I've read a lot of political science/current affairs books, and I've noticed a trend where the authors try and tie a single moment to a larger history, or a larger implication, and it ends up rendering the book whistful or unnecessarily provocative. Not this one, though. It was extremely succint and very carefully persuasive. The research, thought, and time that went into this book is rival to those of Timothy Snyder. I thought this was brilliant.
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt is a chilling account of the state of democracy in the United States. Supplemented by numerous examples of regimes in Latin America and Central/Eastern Europe, the book identifies warning signs in autocratic politicans, their tactics - both obvious and covert - to subvert democracy, and what the voting population can do to prevent autocrats from assuming power. While the book discusses several moments/periods in American history, it primarily focuses on the rise of Donald Trump to power, and how he has exhibited the same warning signs and outright autocratic behavior.
I was curious to see how well this book would hold up - it was published in 2018, just a year into Trump's term. If anything, this book has just gotten more frightening with time, especially in light of the violent insurrection on January 6th. I've learned that the authors published another book, Tyranny of the Minority, just last year, and I will absolutely read that soon. But this book was profound. I treated it like a class - I had a whole annotation system and learned SO much here. But it's one of those classes you love going to! It was very digestible and didn't seek to do too much. I've read a lot of political science/current affairs books, and I've noticed a trend where the authors try and tie a single moment to a larger history, or a larger implication, and it ends up rendering the book whistful or unnecessarily provocative. Not this one, though. It was extremely succint and very carefully persuasive. The research, thought, and time that went into this book is rival to those of Timothy Snyder. I thought this was brilliant.
emmaledbetter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
cafeina_eborea's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Ótimo livro. Traz um panorama mundial da morte da democracia.