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‘Completely uncharted terrain’: what the last 12 days of Trump could look like

What History Reveals About Our Future

How Democracies Die

'The most important book of the Trump era' The Economist 
 
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. 
 
 '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.' David Runciman 
 
'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 
 
 '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' Nick Cohen, Observer 
 
 'Provocative, timely. One of my favourite reads this year' Elif Shafak 
 
 '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

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

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

With great energy and integrity [Levitsky and Ziblatt] apply their expertise to the current problems of the United States.

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

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.

There are two must-read books about the Trump presidency at the moment. This is the one you probably haven't heard of. It is also the one that is most useful to British readers. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are anti-Donald Trump politics professors at Harvard. And the big advantage of political scientists over even the shrewdest and luckiest of eavesdropping journalists is that they have the training to give us a bigger picture. 
They set out some rules about the slow, internal collapse of democracies, which are entirely relevant to Britain...

The greatest of the many merits of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt's contribution to what will doubtless be the ballooning discipline of democracy death studies is their rejection of western exceptionalism. They tell inspiring stories I had not heard before...excellent, scholarly and readable, alarming and level-headed.

The political-science text in vogue this winter is How Democracies Die.

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.

We're already awash in public indignation-what we desperately need is a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy studies, offer just that.

Grander, more didactic ambitions underpin "How Democracies Die" ... a more scholarly approach

The most thought-provoking book comparing democratic crises in different nations

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 exposés 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

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.

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 and we must all understand how we can stop them. From the rule of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile to the quiet undermining of Turkey's constitutional system by President Recip Erdogan, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw insightful lessons from history to shine a light on regime breakdown across the 20th and 21st centuries. 
 
 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; 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.

Steven Levitsky

Daniel Ziblatt

An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal

Old democracies tend to last, and so do rich democracies, Levitsky and Ziblatt point out in this searing, unsettling, and essential new book, but American democracy, which is both old and rich, is dying. In Tyranny of the Minority, they explain why, and they explain, too, how to save it

Ziblatt and Levitsky are two of America’s very best comparative political scientists, with expertise that makes them uniquely well-equipped for the subject they’re examining . . . Tyranny of the Minority is an exceptional book, one of the best guides out there to the crisis of American democracy

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy studies

How to Reverse an Authoritarian Turn, and Forge a Democracy for All

With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, leading Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent new framework for understanding the dangerous times we live in. They draw on a wealth of examples &ndash; from the Capitol riots to Edwardian Britain, from 1930s France to present-day Thailand &ndash; to explore right-wing efforts to undermine the very foundations of the American political system, and to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. 
 
With its attention on factors from election losses to demographic change and voting rights, its urgent call for a reform of our politics to balance the need for majority rule with the need for minority protections, and a citizens&rsquo; movement to put enough pressure on lawmakers to act before it&rsquo;s too late, Tyranny of the Minority is a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy &ndash; and to understand where future threats may come from.

Steven Levitsky

Praise for Tyranny of the Minority

An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal

Concise, readable, and convincing

Old democracies tend to last, and so do rich democracies, Levitsky and Ziblatt point out in this searing, unsettling, and essential new book, but American democracy, which is both old and rich, is dying. In Tyran ...

An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal

Concise, readable, and convincing

Old democracies tend to last, and so do rich democracies, Levitsky and Ziblatt point out in this searing, unsettling, and essential new book, but American democracy, which is both old and rich, is dying. In Tyran ...

An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal

Concise, readable, and convincing

Old democracies tend to last, and so do rich democracies, Levitsky and Ziblatt point out in this searing, unsettling, and essential new book, but American democracy, which is both old and rich, is dying. In Tyran ...

Books by Steven Levitsky

Articles featuring Steven Levitsky

‘Completely uncharted terrain’: what the last 12 days of Trump could look like

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