A review by alexdpar
How Democracies Die by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

Reading this book now, it feels like the information is all stuff I’ve read or heard before. But then when you come to think about it, this is the origin that inspires a lot of that material. In someways, it does condense and combine a lot of democratic theory from the peace studies world, but does so in a way that is communicative to a wider audience and engaging. And at the same time, much of the subject matter is a product that is new and asks questions of preexisting work. 

I think the best content that emerges is the criteria table for which a lot of the examinations are based (p. 23-24). That and its conclusion are brilliant, and even shocking considering its prediction abilities as it was written before the 2020 election overthrow attempt. The use of North Carolina as an example of democracy without guardrails is both accurate and embarrassing. But we deserve the critique. 

As always, I want to question further and push back in some places, and I found this to be mostly in the conclusion. While the analysis of poverty reduction programs is spot on, other aspects, like reducing polarization on the GOP side, seems a bit too simplistic. I agree with the statement that reimagining finance, grassroots organization, messaging, and candidate selection is key to preventing democratic usurpers from taking power. But it’s exactly those people, like Gaetz and Hawley, who are pushing reforms under these labels. Additionally, it appears that grassroots support is for the extremen fringe of the GOP candidates. I’d be excited to see how the authors tackle something like this, as it appears the minority extreme republicans are reforming those aspects and maintaining control. Maybe the newest book is something I need to dive into next!