How Democracies Die
Buy Now
By using these links, you support READO. We receive an affiliate commission without any additional costs to you.
Description
“Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“[Levitsky and Ziblatt] expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.”—Ezra Klein
WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE • SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Time, Foreign Affairs, WBUR, 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. Now the question is, can our democracy be saved?
Praise for How Democracies Die
“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
Book Information
Posts
Veröffentlicht in 2019 lässt sich dieses Buch in einem Satz zusammen fassen: Wir habens euch doch gesagt ... Zwei Politikwissenschaftler setzen sich hier allgemein damit auseinander, anhand welcher Parameter man festmachen kann, dass Demokratien bedroht sind oder auch vollständig ausgehebelt werden. Der Schwerpunkt liegt klar auf Trumps erster Präsidentschaft, es werden jedoch auch Beispiele aus Ungarn, Lateinamerika und Deutschland aufgeführt. Und es ist erschreckend, wie das Buch einfach nur eine perfekte Checkliste für das ist, was Trump gerade abliefert. Wie ein Leitfaden arbeitet er genau das ab, was hier anschaulich aufgezeigt wurde. Die Autoren haben damals sogar vorhergesagt, dass eine Figur wie Musk die politische Bühne betreten wird und essentiell für einen Wahlkampf ist, dessen Ziel letztendlich das Aushebeln der Demokratie ist.
I am a bit late to the party, nevertheless an interesting read that combines scholarly work and historical overviews in different contexts. It answers the question of how we got to Trump in 2016 and provides a handbook to how to spot dangerous trends. The latter makes it still currently relevant. A needed read to understand the times and to shift happening beyond the US.
Well written and elaborated. As the authors are American the book also focuses on America. It gave interesting insights in the history of the American democracy and how it has changed over the past years. Besides this I would have liked a more detailed look on the current situations in Europe - there are some examples but no picture on how much we are currently facing the danger of right extremism within whole Europe. What I liked were the comparsions of how the countries are structured and how something worked for one country but not for another and for which reasons. What gave me hope were the examples and explanations on how countries stood up to fight the right parties. I hope we continue to do this.
Description
“Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“[Levitsky and Ziblatt] expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.”—Ezra Klein
WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE • SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Time, Foreign Affairs, WBUR, 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. Now the question is, can our democracy be saved?
Praise for How Democracies Die
“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
Book Information
Posts
Veröffentlicht in 2019 lässt sich dieses Buch in einem Satz zusammen fassen: Wir habens euch doch gesagt ... Zwei Politikwissenschaftler setzen sich hier allgemein damit auseinander, anhand welcher Parameter man festmachen kann, dass Demokratien bedroht sind oder auch vollständig ausgehebelt werden. Der Schwerpunkt liegt klar auf Trumps erster Präsidentschaft, es werden jedoch auch Beispiele aus Ungarn, Lateinamerika und Deutschland aufgeführt. Und es ist erschreckend, wie das Buch einfach nur eine perfekte Checkliste für das ist, was Trump gerade abliefert. Wie ein Leitfaden arbeitet er genau das ab, was hier anschaulich aufgezeigt wurde. Die Autoren haben damals sogar vorhergesagt, dass eine Figur wie Musk die politische Bühne betreten wird und essentiell für einen Wahlkampf ist, dessen Ziel letztendlich das Aushebeln der Demokratie ist.
I am a bit late to the party, nevertheless an interesting read that combines scholarly work and historical overviews in different contexts. It answers the question of how we got to Trump in 2016 and provides a handbook to how to spot dangerous trends. The latter makes it still currently relevant. A needed read to understand the times and to shift happening beyond the US.
Well written and elaborated. As the authors are American the book also focuses on America. It gave interesting insights in the history of the American democracy and how it has changed over the past years. Besides this I would have liked a more detailed look on the current situations in Europe - there are some examples but no picture on how much we are currently facing the danger of right extremism within whole Europe. What I liked were the comparsions of how the countries are structured and how something worked for one country but not for another and for which reasons. What gave me hope were the examples and explanations on how countries stood up to fight the right parties. I hope we continue to do this.