{"title":"Books by Steven Levitsky","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780241381359","title":"How Democracies Die","description":"\u003cp\u003e'The most important book of the Trump era' The Economist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow does a democracy die?\u003cbr\u003e What can we do to save our own?\u003cbr\u003e What lessons does history teach us?\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the 21st century democracy is threatened like never before. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing insightful lessons from across history - from Pinochet's murderous Chilean regime to Erdogan's quiet dismantling in Turkey - Levitsky and Ziblatt explain why democracies fail, how leaders like Trump subvert them today and what each of us can do to protect our democratic rights.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'This book looks to history to provide a guide for defending democratic norms when they are under threat, and finds that it is possible to fight back.' David Runciman \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy - and how quickly those things can erode when we're not paying attention' President Barack Obama\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'A must-read' \u003ci\u003eAndrew Marr, Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'The greatest of the many merits of Levitsky and Ziblatt's \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die\u003c\/i\u003e is their rejection of western exceptionalism. They tell inspiring stories I had not heard before' Nick Cohen, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Provocative, timely. One of my favourite reads this year' Elif Shafak\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Anyone who is concerned about the future of democracy should read this brisk, accessible book. Anyone who is \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e concerned should definitely read it' Daron Acemoglu, co-author of \u003ci\u003eWhy Nations Fail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201564344498,"sku":"9780241381359","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241381359_e6188eba-b3e2-408c-aa34-e81b56c4b19f.jpg?v=1786012170"},{"product_id":"9780241996584","title":"Tyranny of the Minority","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE MUCH-ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER \u003ci\u003eHOW DEMOCRACIES DIE \u003c\/i\u003e– essential reading ahead of the 2024 US election\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eTyranny of the Minority \u003c\/i\u003eis an exceptional book, one of the best guides out there to the crisis of American democracy’ \u003c\/b\u003eZack Beauchamp, \u003ci\u003eVox\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow has democracy become so threatened – and what can we do to save it?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith 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, \u003ci\u003eTyranny of the Minority \u003c\/i\u003eis a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy – and to understand where future threats may come from.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Just like their previous work, this book is concise, readable, and convincing’\u003c\/b\u003e Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘An exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal’ \u003c\/b\u003eLawrence Douglas, \u003ci\u003eTLS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44583457718450,"sku":"9780241996584","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241996584_a27dd926-41d1-4848-8a00-d4b3d596eeb8.jpg?v=1786012363"},{"product_id":"9780691169521","title":"Revolution and Dictatorship – The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism","description":"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.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56294532252021,"sku":"9780691169521","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685745762677,"sku":"9780691223582","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780691223582.jpg?v=1792598917"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-steven-levitsky.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}