Steven Levitsky
Auteur de How Democracies Die
A propos de l'auteur
Steven Levitsky is an American political scientist and Professor of Government at Harvard University. His research focuses on Latin America and the developing world. He is the author of Competitive Authoritarianism, (with co-author Lucan A. Way in 2010), and How Democracies Die (with co-author afficher plus Daniel Ziblatt in 2018). He is co-editor of Argentine Democracy: The Politics of Institutional Weakness (2005). He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. (Bowker Author Biography) afficher moins
Crédit image: Steven Levitsky
Œuvres de Steven Levitsky
Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point (2023) 113 exemplaires, 3 critiques
Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism (2022) 18 exemplaires, 2 critiques
Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective (2003) 8 exemplaires
Como salvar a democracia [How to Save Democracy] 1 exemplaire
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1968-01-17
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- USA
- Lieux de résidence
- Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
- Études
- Stanford University (B.A.|Political Science|1990)
University of California, Berkeley (Ph. D.|Political Science|1999) - Professions
- political scientist
professor - Organisations
- Harvard University
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
Membres
Critiques
The authors analyze how the United States has recently begun to slide away from respectful democratic politics toward adversarial political combat and dictatorial talk. In well-functioning democracies, loyal opposition parties respect the government's work and look for policies that would enable them to gain popular support in the next election. In contrast, the Republican party has turned toward total obstruction. The authors' main point is that the institutional framework of US politics enables too much of this obstruction to be carried out without popular support. This leads to decision-making paralysis and understandable frustration among the majority of the governed people.
The book adopts a historical perspective, analyzing in detail how the US political system was set up to prevent majorities from abusing their power. The old counter-majoritarian institutions that were set up with good intentions hundreds of years ago now facilitate "the tyranny of the minority" - political obstruction by parties that haven't obtained a majority of votes. The authors also provide a nice international comparative analysis of how other modern democracies, such as Thailand, have suffered from the same problem, and how more successful contemporary democracies dismantled similar counter-majoritarian institutions long ago. The main message of the book is that America must come to terms with the fallibility of its constitution and undertake a reform project.
I've read some pretty pessimistic analyses of US politics recently. This is one is more optimistic, or at least not overly pessimistic. Institutional reform is difficult, but at the end of the book the authors present several reasons to believe that change is possible.… (plus d'informations)
The book adopts a historical perspective, analyzing in detail how the US political system was set up to prevent majorities from abusing their power. The old counter-majoritarian institutions that were set up with good intentions hundreds of years ago now facilitate "the tyranny of the minority" - political obstruction by parties that haven't obtained a majority of votes. The authors also provide a nice international comparative analysis of how other modern democracies, such as Thailand, have suffered from the same problem, and how more successful contemporary democracies dismantled similar counter-majoritarian institutions long ago. The main message of the book is that America must come to terms with the fallibility of its constitution and undertake a reform project.
I've read some pretty pessimistic analyses of US politics recently. This is one is more optimistic, or at least not overly pessimistic. Institutional reform is difficult, but at the end of the book the authors present several reasons to believe that change is possible.… (plus d'informations)
This is a tremendous book that explains the historical context for multiple fundamental flaws, most related to the U.S. Constitution, in the way Americans approach elections and various legislative processes. Topics include the Electoral College, makeup of the U.S. Senate, filibuster, Supreme Court appointments and more. This is a great read for anyone who contemplates the importance of saving and strengthening American-style democracy at a time when its democratic principles are under attack.
The authors have Wikipedia entries. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are academics teaching political science at Harvard University in the USA. Both study and teach comparative politics. There is a summary of their 2018 book How Democracies Dies in a Wikipedia entry.
The authors have examined the methods by which democratic representative (i.e. elected in organized elections) governments have become authoritarian in Europe, South and Central America, and Asia. It reflects a considered expert view of the issues and avoids the suspicion of populism that colored US works of US History and Political Science in the '60s.… (plus d'informations)
The authors have examined the methods by which democratic representative (i.e. elected in organized elections) governments have become authoritarian in Europe, South and Central America, and Asia. It reflects a considered expert view of the issues and avoids the suspicion of populism that colored US works of US History and Political Science in the '60s.… (plus d'informations)
Listes
Prix et récompenses
Vous aimerez peut-être aussi
Auteurs associés
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 10
- Membres
- 1,631
- Popularité
- #15,755
- Évaluation
- 4.2
- Critiques
- 45
- ISBN
- 65
- Langues
- 7
A grim warning of the threat of authoritarianism and fascism in the United States, written at the end of the first year of the 2017-21 Trump presidency, and looking at historical precedents for the dismantling of democratic systems of government, notably the rise of Hitler and Mussolini and the more recent case of Chavez in Venezuela. (A cynic would pause here and note that the authors do not pick examples from regimes that the USA had good relations with, though one would be spoiled for choice.)
It’s a somewhat frustrating book because it’s half analysis and half exhortation; the exhortation is to those Republicans who actually care about the US Constitution to unite with Democrats and get rid of Trump before American democracy is destroyed. Seven years on, the danger has certainly increased and the likelihood of a positive resolution decreased.
Personally I tend to feel that the rot set in thirty years ago, when the Republicans won the 1994 mid-terms by effectively declaring war on the legitimacy of the Democrats to govern at all, and they have no incentive to abandon a strategy which has kept them in the White House for half of the twenty-first century despite winning a majority of the vote in only one election since 1996.
(Nobody under the age of 37 has voted in a presidential election where the Republicans got more votes. Nobody under the age of 53 has voted in two presidential elections where the Republicans got more votes.)
I also felt that the authors critique the cultural assumptions of those they disagrees with, but fail to address the problems of American governance. Not all of the popular disaffection with the political establishment is down to Trumpian propaganda. Americans live shorter lives and have a worse health-care system than citizens of any other advanced democracy. Study after study shows that while the rich are getting richer, the middle classes as well as the poor are all getting poorer. As I said above, both parties have been in power for half of the twenty-first century, so both must share the blame. But it’s not a recipe for political stability.
Obviously I hope that Trump loses the election in November, and the polls are really too close to call right now (Wikipedia’s running average has Trump on 51% and Biden on 49%). But even if he is defeated, there is an awful lot else that needs to be fixed.… (plus d'informations)