Steven Levitsky – författare

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, read by Fred Sanders.Two Harvard professors explain the dangerous world we face todayDemocracies can die with a coup d''état - or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively when in piecemeal fashion, with the election of an authoritarian leader, the abuse of governmental power and the complete repression of opposition. All three steps are being taken around the world - not least with the election of Donald Trump - and we must all understand how we can stop them.In How Democracies Die, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw insightful lessons from across history - from the rule of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile to the quiet undermining of Turkey''s constitutional system by President Recip Erdogan - to shine a light on regime breakdown across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Notably they point to the dangers of an authoritarian leader faced with a major crisis.Based on years of research, they present a deep understanding of how and why democracies die; an alarming analysis of how democracy is being subverted today in the US and beyond; and a guide for maintaining and repairing a threatened democracy, for governments, political parties and individuals. History doesn''t repeat itself. But we can protect our democracy by learning its lessons, before it''s too late.

Brought to you by Penguin.THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE – essential reading ahead of the 2024 US electionHow has democracy become so threatened – and what can we do to save it?With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, leading Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent new framework for understanding the dangerous times we live in. They draw on a wealth of examples – from the Capitol riots to Edwardian Britain, from 1930s France to present-day Thailand – to explore right-wing efforts to undermine the very foundations of the American political system, and to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy.With its attention on factors from election losses to demographic change and voting rights, its urgent call for a reform of our politics to balance the need for majority rule with the need for minority protections, and a citizens’ movement to put enough pressure on lawmakers to act before it’s too late, Tyranny of the Minority is a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy – and to understand where future threats may come from.‘Tyranny of the Minority is an exceptional book, one of the best guides out there to the crisis of American democracy’ Zack Beauchamp, Vox‘Just like their previous work, this book is concise, readable, and convincing’ Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy‘An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal’ Lawrence Douglas, TLS©2023 Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Why the world’s most resilient dictatorships are products of violent revolutionRevolution and Dictatorship explores why dictatorships born of social revolution—such as those in China, Cuba, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam—are extraordinarily durable, even in the face of economic crisis, large-scale policy failure, mass discontent, and intense external pressure. Few other modern autocracies have survived in the face of such extreme challenges. Drawing on comparative historical analysis, Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way argue that radical efforts to transform the social and geopolitical order trigger intense counterrevolutionary conflict, which initially threatens regime survival, but ultimately fosters the unity and state-building that supports authoritarianism.Although most revolutionary governments begin weak, they challenge powerful domestic and foreign actors, often bringing about civil or external wars. These counterrevolutionary wars pose a threat that can destroy new regimes, as in the cases of Afghanistan and Cambodia. Among regimes that survive, however, prolonged conflicts give rise to a cohesive ruling elite and a powerful and loyal coercive apparatus. This leads to the downfall of rival organizations and alternative centers of power, such as armies, churches, monarchies, and landowners, and helps to inoculate revolutionary regimes against elite defection, military coups, and mass protest—three principal sources of authoritarian breakdown.Looking at a range of revolutionary and nonrevolutionary regimes from across the globe, Revolution and Dictatorship shows why governments that emerge from violent conflict endure.