How Democracies Die

Description

How Democracies Die is a non-fiction book written by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, published in 2018.
Main Argument
The authors argue that democracies often die not through violent coups but through a gradual erosion of democratic norms and institutions. They argue that elected leaders can exploit weaknesses in democratic systems to consolidate power, undermine the rule of law, and destroy democratic institutions.
Key Factors
The authors establish four key variables in the causality of failure for democracies to collapse.
Polarization: Deep splits in society along any dimension can easily prevent both parties from moving forward.
Erosion of democratic norms: Decline of unwritten rules and conventions guiding democratic actions.
Weak institutions: Failure by the democratic institutes like the courts, parliament and the electoral institution.
Authoritarian leaders: These are leaders who take advantage of democratic weaknesses to amass power and destroy democratic institutions.
Case Studies
The book explores the collapse of democracies in various countries, such as:
Weimar Germany
Chile under Augusto Pinochet
Venezuela under Hugo Chávez
Hungary under Viktor Orbán
Relevance to Contemporary Politics
The authors relate the elements that led to the fall of democracies in other countries to the current state of democracy in the United States.
Awards and Recognition
New York Times Best Seller
The Washington Post Best Book of 2018
2019 Lionel Gelber Prize winner