How Democracies Die

By: Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

For listeners of On Tyranny and Why Nations Fail, a bracing look at the demise of liberal democracies around the world - and a road map for rescuing our own. 

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 two decades 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 many exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we may 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, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die - and how ours can be saved. 

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

Critic Reviews

“The best death-of-democracy book I read in 2018.” (Carlos Lozada, Washington Post) 

“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.” (New York Times)

“The defining political book, so far, of 2018.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

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

 

• Winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize
• Shortlisted for the 2019 Lionel Gelber Prize
• A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2018 
• A Time Best Nonfiction Book of 2018 
• A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2018A WBUR Best Book of 2018
• A Paste Best Nonfiction Book of 2018
• A New York Times Book Review Best Book Cover of 2018
• A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice 

Connecting the Dots

This scholarly work connects the dots of increased partisanism, anti-immigrant prejudice and Trump’s electoral victory. Citing many historical examples, the authors synthesize more than 100 years of U.S. and World history to persuasively examine trends and tendencies in our domestic politics. Written in a nonpartisan way, the authors cite anti-democratic actions by Republicans and Democrats alike. Don’t waste another evening on Fox News or MSNBC - listen to this book and gain some real insights into current events and the future of our democracy.

36 people found this helpful

Must-read for anyone interested in fundamental political science in the context of current day western world

Must-read for anyone interested in fundamental political science in the context of current day western world

Well-written and conveyed in layman terms by scholars. Sometimes a rare quality.

18 people found this helpful

So important

Such a well thought out and argued book. Very moderate but with such good proposals. I’ve been reading a lot of books lately about what’s been happening in this country and this was one of the most concise and well argued

14 people found this helpful

Scholarly, fresh, and compelling.

What made the experience of listening to How Democracies Die the most enjoyable?

The relevance of the content, the clarity of the writing, and the satisfying narration

What did you like best about this story?

The revelation that autocrats acquire power by weaponizing words. Violence often comes later.

Have you listened to any of Fred Sanders’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. His performance is outstanding.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The authors' statement that democracy is at risk of dying when political opponents become enemies and go to war.

Any additional comments?

Loved this book for presenting its disturbing content in a fresh and especially coherent manner. To the dismay of my wife, I will be listening to this audiobook several times in the weeks to come -- a task made easy by Fred Sander's gentle and perfectly paced performance.

13 people found this helpful

Insightful, thoughtful, and gutless.

On one hand this book is very thorough by being historically minded and considerate of how authoritarian governments are formed in nations outside America. It's list of authoritarian tendency warning signs is probably the biggest highlight though it's analysis of the Maduro and Chavez governments and their gradual right-ward leaning into totalitarianism are also quite good. On the other hand it's also extremely centrist. It's adrift in political consensus thinking about the importance of swing voters, that the Left and Right are essentially morally equivalent, that Trump voters are apparently not really motivated by anything -nor bigotry nor status anxiety nor economic concerns are much explored- and it's ultimate lesson is to -in very appropriately centrist tones- the Democrats to "play nice." And it makes me a little sick and frustrated. There is a lot of mooning over "political guardrails" and "political norms" and that is frustrating -oh, but have no doubt this is accurate mooning. The case is clearly and effectively made that a tit-for-tat escalation between Republicans and Democrats starting (in modern times; a >great deal< is made of FDR's court-packing attempt and his choice run for a 3rd and 4th term) with the Gringrich Revolution being the effective initiator. There is Democratic obstruction of George Bush jr, there is filibuster abuse and gerrymandering, there Is political hackery galore. "Yes Virginia both sides do it" is the message of this book. But that's a false equivalence. Barack Obama isn't GWB. FDR isn't Nixon. The genius of Newt Gingrich was the realization that civility is for suckers and this book belongs to those suckers. There is very little interest in stakes -this is a book for detached technocrats who fundamentally understand that ideas don't matter, not citizens looking for a path forward. Is money in politics corrupting? Is the GOP in suicide pact with reckless authoritarianism? This book doesn't care. That's not it's thesis, we're not here to find answers we're here to get dreamy-eyed about when neighbors were polite to each other because it was easier to abandon Reconstruction than to upset the South by honoring promises to support universal voting rights. FDR's the villain, national financial catastrophe and bloody NAZIS don't count it's the principle of the matter how dare he sir how dare he. This is a book about nothing. It has a great deal to teach us but ultimately nothing useful to say. It is terrified of Donald Trump and for reasons thoroughly thought out and explained, but no answers beyond "play nice." It's the mating cry of the political dinosaur class echoing lonely over the primeval marsh wondering where everybody went while rats eat it's eggs.

9 people found this helpful

A Must-Read for All Americans

This book recounts the history of democracies, their strengths and particularly their weaknesses. It describes in detail the insidiousness of the many different political and social circumstances that have threatened our own fragile democracy and how we can attempt to counteract polarization.

Perhaps the most important point of the authors’ thesis is that we are held together by a collection of unwritten standards of political discourse and behavior which, have broken down and cannot be rescued by recourse to our Constitution.

9 people found this helpful

A chilling and important book

As someone wi
This book is riveting. It is a look at democracies around the world and through history. It discusses which ones succeeded and which ones failed, and why. There are so many important lessons contained here. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

7 people found this helpful

A Must Read

I found this book fascinating. Ziblatt and Levitsky are respected scholars in the field of democracy studies. They teach at Harvard University.

The book is well written and researched. It is written in an easy to read style that is easy for the lay person to follow. The first part of the book reviewed how democracies around the world have fallen to authoritarian regimes over the years. The authors explain three key important elements vital to a democracy and then go into detail about each country and whether one or all elements were involved in its demise. The authors also have revealed in detail how some countries have over thrown the authoritarian regime and returned to a democracy even stronger than before. I found the method used in Chile to return to a democracy most interesting. The last part of the book examines the United States and examines attacks on our democracy and how they were successfully repelled. The authors examine in-depth the first year of Trump’s administration. Levitsky and Ziblatt show how a democracy fails and most important what can be done to protect the democracy. From reading this book one thing that I was struck with is how critical it is to maintaining our democracy to solve our race problem. The book is written in a neutral academic method. This book is a must read for everyone living in a democracy.

It is such an important reference book I am going to purchase a hardback edition. The book is almost eight and a half hours. Fred Sanders does an excellent job narrating the book. Sanders is an actor and well-known audiobook narrator. He has a smooth reading style that is easy to listen too.

11 people found this helpful

Scary & Uplifting

I’ve been very disheartened by people embracing Trumpism. This book confirmed my fears, but also has some good ideas about how to respond in a way that doesn’t keep escalating the feud.

2 people found this helpful

Read this book

I’m writing this review after reading this book 2x in the past 2 weeks. Inspiring and actionable. An important book for this political moment.

2 people found this helpful