How Democracies Die

What History Reveals About Our Future

Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt | 4.36 | 11,613 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Barack Obama, Michael Mcfaul, Steve Kerr, and 4 others. See all reviews

Ranked #1 in Democracy, Ranked #5 in Political Science — see more rankings.

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 more than twenty years 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 several exit... more

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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of How Democracies Die from the world's leading experts.

Barack Obama Former USA PresidentAs 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. (Source)

Michael Mcfaul Nothing more I’d rather have than a book endorsement from @SteveKerr ! And it is a great book. https://t.co/i9XCw5H9YX (Source)

Steve Kerr Add this to your summer reading list. Great book. https://t.co/5OFnC2vskM (Source)