Book Club: On Tyranny and How Democracies Die

For our Book Club meeting in March, we plan to read about the fragility of democracy and what we can do about it. Recent events show that democracy is under threat across the world. If this concerns, join us for a discussion of two books that analyse this and provide steps we can take to defend democracy.

Suggested reading:
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, a book from 2017 by Timothy Snyder
How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

On Tyranny is a compact book of just 127 pages and focuses on the concept of tyranny in the context of modern United States politics, analysing what Snyder calls "America's turn towards authoritarianism." Explaining that "history does not repeat, but it does instruct," he analyses 20th century Europe to identify conditions that can enable established democracies to transform into dictatorships. This book is presented as a series of instructions on combating the rise of tyranny. You can read more about this book at Goodreads: On Tyranny.

Read the book or watch a video from the author: Timothy Snyder, "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The 20th Century" - YouTube

In How Democracies Die, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw insightful lessons from across history - from the rule of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile to the quiet undermining of Turkey's constitutional system by President Recip Erdogan - to shine a light on regime breakdown across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Notably they point to the dangers of an authoritarian leader faced with a major crisis. Based on years of research, they present a deep understanding of how and why democracies die; an alarming analysis of how democracy is being subverted today in the US and beyond; and a guide for maintaining and repairing a threatened democracy, for governments, political parties and individuals. You can read more about this book at Goodreads: How Democracies Die.

Read the book or watch a video from the author: “How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future” - YouTube

If you do not have time to read the books, the authors of both books have many videos on YouTube in which they discuss the subject. Whatever you decide to read or watch, join us for a stimulating discussion with like-minded individuals in a relaxed atmosphere.

We have a group on Goodreads from which you can see all the books we're discussing and make comments and recommendations to other members of the group. Goodreads: Reading Humanists group.

For those wishing to participate in our discussion, we have a WhatsApp group which you can join at Reading Humanists Book Club WhatsApp Group.