Open Democracy Book Club: Tyranny of the Minority

Please join Open Democracy Book Club on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 7pm Eastern for a discussion of Tyranny of the Minority.  Author Steven Levitsky will be joining us for the first half hour for discussion and Q&A.

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 Most modern democracies—from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand—have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges.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.


Purchasing information

Available at your local book store (Softcover 20.00): 

Gibson's Bookstore, 45 South Main St., Concord, NH 03301  603-224-0562

Main Street BookEnds of Warner, 16 East Main St., Warner, NH 03278 (603) 456-2700

Toadstool Bookstores, 12 Depot St., Peterborough, NH 03458   (603) 924-3543

 

WHEN
February 13, 2025 at 7:00pm - 8:30pm
103 RSVPS
Gordon Allen Susan Martin William Black Jim Van Valkenburgh Joan Meyer Loïs Numbi Ginger Milord John Cox Corinne Dodge Bill Gallegos Maja Smith Maurice Neville Sarah Lance Beverly Vermeer Susan Moore James Kelly Roger Scott David Daniels Madeline Shapiro Carole Drew Ellen Driscoll Virginia Schonwald Jennifer Bonsu-Anane Linda Dunham Ken Barnes Cheryl Giles Jackie Rivas Mike Hoey Mark Wisan Gabriele Lieberg Nicole Butler Sherrard Hamilton Debra Myers John and Mary Rauh David Richman Eliza Petrovits Carol Kocivar Linda Greer Marella Cantoni Jan Cooper Ken Chestek Sarah Chouinard Maria Schafer Felicity Swayze Joan and Joel Chinitz Cecile Juneau Susan Spademan Maggie Condon Campos

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