How Democracies Die

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—New York Times Book Review“Cool and persuasive... How Democracies Die comes at exactly the right moment.”—The Washington PostDonald 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

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.” —New York Times Book Review“Cool and persuasive... How Democracies Die comes at exact

Two Harvard professors explain the dangerous world we face todayDemocracies can die with a coup d'état - or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively when in piecemeal fashion, with the elect

Two Harvard professors explain the dangerous world we face today Democracies can die with a coup d'etat - or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively when in piecemeal fashion, with the elec

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.” —New York Times Book Review“Cool and persuasive... How Democracies Die comes at exact

Democracies die in three stages: the election of an authoritarian leader, the concentration and abuse of governmental power and finally, the complete repression of opposition and citizens. The first s

For readers of On Tyranny and Why Nations Fail, a bracing look at the demise of liberal democracies around the world—and a roadmap for rescuing our own. The first few months of Dona