Levitsky, Steven and Ziblatt, Daniel (2018). How democracies die. Spain: Ariel

Abstract

This review explores the contemporary diagnosis of democracy’s crisis, drawing on Guy Hermet’s thesis regarding its potential silent collapse. In contrast to the transformations identified by Manin and Sartori, it examines How Democracies Die (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018), a work that warns of the fragility of democratic regimes. While it argues that democracy is still alive, it emphasizes its vulnerability to the erosion of informal norms and institutional practices. The analysis is organized around five key principles—three of general applicability and two focused on the U.S. case—that help illuminate current risks to democratic governance.