How Democracies Die

By: Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Two Harvard professors explain the dangerous world we face today

Democracies can die with a coup d'état - or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively when in piecemeal fashion, with the election of an authoritarian leader, the abuse of governmental power and the complete repression of opposition. All three steps are being taken around the world - not least with the election of Donald Trump - and we must all understand how we can stop them.

In How Democracies Die, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw insightful lessons from across history - from the rule of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile to the quiet undermining of Turkey's constitutional system by President Recip Erdogan - to shine a light on regime breakdown across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Notably they point to the dangers of an authoritarian leader faced with a major crisis.

Based on years of research, they present a deep understanding of how and why democracies die; an alarming analysis of how democracy is being subverted today in the US and beyond; and a guide for maintaining and repairing a threatened democracy, for governments, political parties and individuals.

History doesn't repeat itself. But we can protect our democracy by learning its lessons, before it's too late.

©2018 Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies have collapsed elsewhere—not just through violent coups, but more commonly (and insidiously) through a gradual slide into authoritarianism. . . . How Democracies Die is a lucid and essential guide to what can happen here.”—The New York Times

“The most important book of the Trump era was not Bob Woodward’s Fear or Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury or any of the other bestselling exposes of the White House circus. Arguably it was a wonkish tome by two Harvard political scientists, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, published a year into Donald Trump’s presidency and entitled How Democracies Die.”—The Economist

“If you want to understand what’s happening to our country, the book you really need to read is How Democracies Die.”—Paul Krugman

lo más importante libro en este momento.

No puedo ayudar pero me siento como yo necesito hacer algo después escuchando a este libro. muy impresionado.

Essential reading

Great historical information presented that illuminates the likely path of America's downfall. Americans need to absorb this information as quickly as possible.

A vulnerable democracy

Though written in the first years of the Trump administration, the authors are spot on as to what is happening to our democracy. Unfortunately we still have a ways to go to bring us back to real democracy. They lay out a difficult road. I hope we can follow it.

DEAD ON

Taking you on a tour of the past to bring into focus just how much history does repeat itself. They lay out how we are very much in the midst of an existential threat seen by many failed democracies just before their last breath of free, speech and air...

Prescient Book

Excellent and prescient book. Too bad all Americans don’t have the opportunity to read “How Democracies Die” as it would make us better citizens give us better tools to support our democracy.

America's wake-up call!

Every American citizen who loves and wants to preserve their country must hear this book!

good but

The book was good, however it seemed to have an axe to grind. I believe that it could have been much better if it exposed how we got there. Trump is not the issue he's a symptom of a bigger problem. I thought the research into other failed democracies was helpful in giving a perspective. In a democracy, everyone is the problem (along with the media). We need to rise up and become the people worthy to uphold this democracy and make it thrive. Ignorance is no excuse; unfortunately, the political cards of "Right", "Left", "Conservative" and "Liberal" are what we use to enforce this separation between each other and damage our democracy. We were given this democracy to uphold and cherish. Now we have willingly given up so many freedoms that we have no understanding of what it is anymore. I Believe the author would do well to write a Prequel to this book and explain where our government came from and why it is the best choice even though we have problems with it. Problems are opportunities (or funerals) for our democracy to grow and change. We stand in need of a visionary who will help us get there.

interesting but period specific

enjoyed the insightful and sobering historical references and analogies the book gave, but felt the overemphasis on Trump somewhat directed and current affairs.. would've been great to have the book split into two

An important lesson in how norm violation can lead to the the death of democracy

For those who want to understand how democracies have died, what symptoms to look for, and, specifically, how far along we are in the United States. It stresses the importance of accepting the legitimacy of the opposition and in forbearance demonstrated by living within norms, not just the letter of the law.

Norms Used to Protect Social Structures

The social norms that provide guardrails for acceptable political behaviors were damaged by Newt Gingrich in ways that were not fully appreciated during his time in office. His corruption of what was “acceptable behaviors,” has had far reaching consequences, that has warped our political systems. Well done look at the cultural dynamics of “normal behaviors,” and the consequences of not respecting them. Worth repeating.