Interviews
Interviews
Interviews
Tyranny of the Minority with Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Tyranny of the Minority with Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
American Democracy has faced some challenging times, living through a modern-day political crisis. Factor in the unsettling truth that the Constitution – even with its brilliance and reverence – has flaws, which limit the power of majorities, and we’re left wondering: Why have we stopped working to reform and improve the Constitution over the last half century? What are other Democracies doing to fight Authoritarianism? And what is a “Constitutional Republic” in relation to a Democracy? Harvard professors of government, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, join us to dig into all things Democracy. In their new book, Tyranny of the Minority, they explore how democracies break down throughout history and find the striking pattern that political minorities often govern over political majorities.
Special thanks to our guests, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, for joining us today.
Listen on your favorite platform:
- Host: Sharon McMahon
- Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
- Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
- Production Coordinator: Andrea Champoux
- Host: Sharon McMahon
- Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
- Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
- Production Coordinator: Andrea Champoux
Guests
Guests
Steven Levitsky
Steven Levitsky is a Professor of Government at Harvard University. Levitsky’s research focuses on Latin America and the developing world. He is the author of Competitive Authoritarianism and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. Levitsky has written for Vox and The New York Times, among other publications.
Daniel Ziblatt
Daniel Ziblatt is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University. Ziblatt specializes in the study of European politics, democracy, state-building and historical political economy.
He is the author of four books, including How Democracies Die (Crown Publishing Group, 2018), co-authored with Steve Levitsky, a New York Times best-seller and described by The Economist magazine as "the most important book of the Trump era."
His most recent book, co-authored with Steve Levitsky, is entitled Tyranny of the Minority (Crown Publishing Group, 2023). It puts America's contemporary transition into a multiracial democracy in comparative and historical perspective, and shows the distinctive vulnerabilities of the U.S. constitutional order.