104. Warning Signs of Authoritarianism
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What you'll hear
Here's the goal of this episode: to give you a practical framework for recognizing the patterns that can weaken a democracy before the answer becomes obvious.
Because these days, authoritarianism often doesn't arrive with tanks in the streets or a coup. Often it develops gradually, through elections, legal changes, weakened institutions, and leaders who argue that the normal rules are getting in the way. In this episode, we look at warning signs of authoritarianism through stories from Peru, France, the Philippines, Venezuela, and more.
Using a framework from political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, we’ll explore four questions you can ask of any political leader, along with ideas from Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Anne Applebaum, Sergei Guriev, Daniel Treisman, and Timothy Snyder.
Books mentioned:
How Democracies Die — Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt
Strongmen — Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Spin Dictators — Sergei Guriev & Daniel Treisman
Twilight of Democracy — Anne Applebaum
Autocracy, Inc. — Anne Applebaum
On Tyranny — Timothy Snyder
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Sources used in this episode.
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