Quo's Reviews > How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future

While How Democracies Die is now 7 years old, its focus remains sufficiently broad, continuing to be relevant, particularly given its rather global focus on what the quoted Larry Diamond has termed, a "period of democratic recession", also stating that "democracy peaked in 2005".


Authors Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt ask: "Are we living amidst the decline & fall of one of the world's oldest democracies?" The question was raised because a man with no experience in public office, little commitment to constitutional rights & clear authoritarian tendencies was elected president in 2016, not foreseeing that a person with such obvious liabilities could ever be reelected.

They advance the Criteria for an Autocrat: 1) Refusal to accept the legitimacy of an election; 2) Vilification of his opponents; 3) Encouragement of violence; and 4) Willingness to curtail civil liberties, the media and virtually anyone in opposition. Clearly, Donald Trump & autocrats in Turkey, Hungary, India & elsewhere met those criteria in 2018 as the book went to press.

It is commented that for generations "Americans have retained great faith in their constitution as the centerpiece of their belief in America as a beacon of hope, perhaps to the world."

There are however considerable liabilities with a document that is only 4 pages in length, contains few safeguards & can be interpreted in multiple ways. An example is the document's failure to define the limits of executive orders or the president's ability to act unilaterally.


Historically, American democracy has remained secure due to a strong middle class, America's inherent wealth, a vibrant civil society & strong democratic norms. However, the authors point out that "citizens are often slow to realize that their democracy is being dismantled."

Traditionally, America's two most important norms have been mutual toleration & institutional forbearance, including a spirit of general bipartisan cooperation. In spite of that, recent polarization has served to destroy democratic norms, with many in one party viewing the other party as an existential threat to American values & fewer independent voters.

By 2000, neither party continued to function as an ideological "big tent", with liberal Republicans & conservative Democrats both fleeing their parties. While Democrats have become more diverse, Republicans have remained fairly homogeneous, focused on race & religion, especially as regards white, working class, Christian conservatives.

In part, this is because Black enfranchisement & immigration have become such all-defining criteria within the two parties. As the country has become increasingly diverse, moving from 10% non-white in 1950 to 40+% non-white in 2020, these issues have transformed both parties.

Levitsky & Ziblatt declare that...

Even if Trump doesn't dismantle democratic institutions, his norm-breaking is almost certain to corrode them. Tactics once considered abhorrent & inadmissible--lying, cheating, bullying--are now part of a politician's toolkit. Trump has lied with impunity and what was once seen as abnormal is now considered the norm.

Ultimately, the authors caution against the Democrats copying Republican strategy but instead should "work to restore the norms of mutual toleration & forbearance." They should endeavor to "preserve rather than violate democratic norms, or America may elect a president even worse than Trump".

I close with a quote not from authors Levitsky & Ziblatt but from Hannah Arendt, an author who spoke & wrote about autocratic rule:

This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth & lies cannot distinguish between good & evil. They become completely subjected to the rule of lies, deprived of the power to think & to judge. With such a people, you can do whatever you want.

Note: There is much online with Harvard Professors Levitsky & Ziblatt updating their thoughts on Trump 2.0 and the further erosion of American democratic ideals. Nonetheless, I found How Democracies Die (2018) well worth reading.

*Within my review is a photo image of authors Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt + 2 New Yorker magazine covers by Barry Blitt portraying America in the Age of Trump.