Tyranny of the Minority

An urgent follow-up to international bestseller How Democracies Die, by two world-leading experts on democracy

In this razor-sharp analysis of one of the most important issues facing us today, leading Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw on their combined expertise of over 40 years to offer a dire warning about right-wing efforts to undermine multiracial democracy.

Exploring the 2024 American election and the Capitol riots, as well as global examples from history including post-1945 Germany and Brazil and Chile during the '60s and '70s, the authors show how certain political institutions can be pernicious enablers of minority rule, creating a situation in which partisan minorities can consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities.

With its urgent call for a radical reform of our politics to balance the need for majority rule with the need for minority protections, and a citizens' movement to put enough pressure on lawmakers to act before it's too late, Tyranny of the Minority is a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy.