“The drift into authoritarianism doesn’t always set off alarm bells. Citizens are often slow to realize that their democracy is being dismantled even as it happens before their eyes.”
Penned in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s first election to the presidency, How Democracies Die is a comparative politics book by Harvard scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. Their work is the product of over two decades studying the breakdown of democracies, revealing how liberty and freedom of speech are so often eroded gradually rather than in a stunning single sweep. Utilising research from across history and historical examples from Jim Crow to Venezuela, Turkey and Hungary today, How Democracies Die is one of the most timely, convincing and compelling assessments of freedom in the twenty-first century, and what we can do to halt the push toward authoritarianism. If you loved Levitsky and Ziblatt’s work, join us at What We Reading for the best books like How Democracies Die!
Twilight Of Democracy: The Seductive Lure Of Authoritarianism – Anne Applebaum
First up on our list of books like How Democracies Die is another one of the best assessments on the threats to global democracy at present, Anne Applebaum’s Twilight of Democracy. In it, she presents the groundbreaking concept that there is an inherent appeal to authoritarianism, the strong man image, and one-party rule. Applebaum argues that people are not just ideological, but also pragmatic, practical and opportunistic – worried about the demands of daily life.
Drawing on reporting in Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary and Brazil and using historical examples ranging from Stalinist Europe to Nazi Germany, Applebaum examines the modern conspiracy theory, political polarisation and the nostalgia for a golden past for a brilliant illustration of the allure or totalitarianism and the enduring appeal of a one-party state.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder
On November 9th 2016, millions of Americans woke to the impossible news that Donald Trump had been elected president. Against all predictions, one of the most divisive candidates in history with an open contempt for democratic conventions had been elevated to the most powerful seat in the free world.
In On Tyranny historian Timothy Synder dissects the events and values that enabled the rise of leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, and the ways in which their catastrophic policies were enacted. Like How Democracies Die, On Tyranny is a stirring call to arms and a guide to resistance, Synder’s work is full of ideas on how we can preserve our freedoms in these uncertain times.
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Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America – Barbara McQuade
American society is more polarised than ever before. Through disinformation – the deliberate spreading of lies masquerading as truth – people are being driven apart by opportunistic forces from all sides ranging from Russian misinformed social media influencers to extremists on the far right.
In Attack from Within, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade deftly tackles the dangers of misinformation present in our global democratic frameworks from healthcare, education, electoral systems, workplaces and technological advancements into the new age of artificial intelligence. Similar to How Democracies Die, Attack from Within is a timely commentary that illuminates how disinformation is being weaponised in the gradual erosion of democracy.
How Fascism Works: The Politics Of Us And Them – Jason F. Stanley
As a child of refugees of World War II and an acclaimed philosopher on propaganda, Jason Stanley is an expert on how democratic societies can find themselves vulnerable to fascism. Alarmed by the startling rise of fascist tactics both domestically in the US and around the wider world, How Fascism Works is Stanley’s analysis of the structures that unite them, presenting ten pillars that make up the political ideology of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Like with How Democracies Die, Stanley ties together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology and critical race theory with real-world stories from Myanmar, India, Poland and the United States to make clear the immense dangers underestimating these pillars presents. By uncovering the disturbing patterns that are as ever-present today as they have ever been, How Fascism Works demonstrates how the stuff of politics can quickly become policy and reality.
Why Nations Fail: The Origins Of Power, Prosperity And Poverty – Daron Acemoglu And James Robinson
In Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson attempt to demonstrate how man-made political and economic institutions are what determine the fate of countries and their people, as opposed to their cultures, weather, geography or other contributing factors.
Much like How Democracies Die, Why Nations Fail is the result of fifteen years of original research from sources ranging from the ancient Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, the United States and modern-day Africa. The end result is a fascinating read that presents the most comprehensive roadmap on how to lift billions out of poverty and engineer a more prosperous world.
Check Out The Best Books Like Why Nations Fail
Why We’re Polarized – Ezra Klein
Over the past five decades, partisan ideals in the United States have collided with racial, religious, geographic, ideological and cultural identities. What has followed is an astonishing weight that is shattering much of the established political order that threatens to rip the country apart at the seams. In Why We’re Polarized, analyst Ezra Klein demonstrates how and why American politics fractured around identity in the twentieth century and what this polarisation has done to shift the way in which individuals view the world and one another.
In an approach that any readers of How Democracies Die are sure to appreciate, Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind the United States’ descent into division and dysfunction. Analytical and comprehensive, it is one of the best books for understanding the politicisation of everyday culture.
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Fascism: A Warning – Madeleine K. Albright
Twentieth-century history was defined by the violent clash between democracy and Fascism, a struggle that fuelled uncertainty about the survival of human freedom and left millions of people dead. In Fascism: A Warning, Madeleine Albright draws on her experiences in war-torn Europe and her distinguished career as a diplomat to meditate on how the world views the spiritual successors of Fascism today.
Albright makes the case that Fascism not only survived the twentieth century but is now a greater threat to peace and justice than any other time post-WWII. The wave of democracy that swept across the world following the fall of the Berlin Wall has been replaced by leaders and institutions that champion division. Economic, technological and cultural factors weaken the political centre and empower more polarising wings who are using similar tactics to Fascists in the 1920s and 1930s. Relevant and timely, Fascism: A Warning is one of the best books, like How Democracies Die, to help us understand how we can avoid repeating the same tragic errors of the past.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
