How Democracies Die

Steven Levitsky (1968-) and Daniel Ziblatt (1972-) are professors in the Department of Government at Harvard University. While their main areas of research are authoritarianism in Latin America and Europe, respectively, the political conditions in the United States prompted them to examine American democracy in How Democracies Die. Drawing on their knowledge of the process of democratic breakdown in other countries, the authors offer a detailed analysis of how the same pattern is evident in the United States. The fact the authors have this breadth of knowledge underscores the validity of their argument that American democracy is not exceptional but is in fact vulnerable to the same authoritarian threats that other democracies have faced. It also positions them to identify the contours of the threat, since their study of authoritarian leaders in Europe and Latin America have given them the tools needed to create a “litmus test” that can diagnose would-be authoritarian leaders.

Finally, the authors’ self-professed dismay at having to focus their expertise in analyzing authoritarianism on their own country highlights how the political changes happening in the United States are a dramatic shift, though they are not without precedent in the country’s history. By positioning themselves this way in relation to the text, Levitsky and Ziblatt are underscoring the urgency of their work, insofar as the seriousness of the political situation has prompted them to draw on their research on democratic breakdown to offer a guide for citizens looking to defend American democracy.