How Democracies Die
by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Democracies now die at the ballot box, not by coup: gatekeeping, mutual toleration, forbearance, with cases from Chile to Venezuela to the US. Comparative and clear.
Read it if…
you want the political science of democratic erosion.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want a non-American focus; it is partly American.
Try instead: Tyranny of the Minority →
Three things you will actually use
- Norms matter more than rules.
- Gatekeepers must gatekeep.
- Watch forbearance.
Do this first
Read the chapter on the guardrails.
Our verdict
Levitsky and Ziblatt.
See the book →
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