How Democracies Die

Outline

How Democracies Die (2018) examines how democratic systems can weaken gradually through legal steps rather than sudden coups. Drawing on examples from Europe and Latin America, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identify warning signs in political leaders and explain the unwritten rules, such as mutual tolerance and restraint, that help keep institutions stable. The book became an international bestseller.

• Democracies today more often weaken gradually through legal steps taken by elected leaders than through sudden coups.
• Levitsky and Ziblatt draw on examples from Europe and Latin America to show how this slow decline unfolds.
• Political leaders can show warning signs early, and learning to recognise them helps people respond in time.
• Unwritten rules such as mutual tolerance and restraint help keep democratic institutions stable.
• Laws alone are not enough, because norms and safeguards must also hold for democracy to last.

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are American political scientists and professors of government at Harvard University. Levitsky studies Latin American politics and political parties, while Ziblatt focuses on the history of democracy in Europe. Together they wrote How Democracies Die and Tyranny of the Minority.