Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Tyranny of the minority : why American democracy reached the breaking point / Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Crown, [2023]Edition: First editionDescription: 368 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593443071
  • 0593443071
  • 9780593728161
  • 0593728165
Subject(s):
Contents:
Fear of losing -- The banality of authoritarianism -- It has happened here -- Why the Republican Party abandoned democracy -- Fettered majorities -- Minority rule -- America the outlier -- Democratizing our democracy.
Summary: "A call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it's too late-from the New York Times bestselling authors of How Democracies Die. America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it? With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples-from 1930s France to present-day Thailand-to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies-from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand-have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind. In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to perfect our national experiment. It's a daunting task, but we have remade our country before-most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 320.473 L666 Available 33111011082472
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 320.473 L666 Available 33111011180193
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 320.473 L666 Available 33111011134398
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it's too late--from the authors of How Democracies Die

"[Levitsky and Ziblatt] write with terrifying clarity about how the forces of the right have co-opted the enshrined rules to exert their tyranny."-- The Washington Post

ONE OF THE CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS ' TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * A NEWSWEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it?

With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples--from 1930s France to present-day Thailand--to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies--from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand--have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind.

In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to reform our politics. It's a daunting task, but we have remade our country before--most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [263]-343) and index.

Fear of losing -- The banality of authoritarianism -- It has happened here -- Why the Republican Party abandoned democracy -- Fettered majorities -- Minority rule -- America the outlier -- Democratizing our democracy.

"A call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it's too late-from the New York Times bestselling authors of How Democracies Die. America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it? With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples-from 1930s France to present-day Thailand-to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies-from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand-have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind. In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to perfect our national experiment. It's a daunting task, but we have remade our country before-most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all"-- Provided by publisher.

Powered by Koha