Author of 'Why Democracies Die' is back in town with a new book, ‘Tyranny of the Minority’
Occidental-native and Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University Daniel Ziblatt returns to Occidental Center for the Arts and to Sebastopol Rotary in January to read from his latest book
Never has the adage “We live in interesting times” been more apropos politically than for Americans during the past two election cycles. And the threats to American democracy that emerged during the Trump years may well resurface during the next presidential election in 2024. In response to the ongoing threat of tyranny, political scientist and Occidental-native Daniel Ziblatt co-authored two books with fellow Harvard professor Steven Levitsky. Together they have spent decades studying the collapse of democracies in Europe and Latin America.
Their first book, How Democracies Die, published in 2018, addressed the inherent threat to American democracy presented by the Trump presidency and explained the ways in which our democracy can be saved.
Their second and latest book, Tyranny of the Minority, published in September 2023, addresses the inherent limitations in our Constitution that, if unchecked, allow tyranny to replace democracy. It also urges Americans to push for the reforms necessary to realign our government with our democratic values and ideals.
Ziblatt’s Tyranny of the Minority book-reading tour has so far taken him from New York to other points on the East Coast, as well as Illinois, Berkeley and Switzerland. He is slated to return to Occidental for a book signing at OCA on Jan. 12, 2024, from 7-9 p.m. — an event sandwiched between a reading at Stanford and a stop in Montana.
(The following interview, conducted by phone on Wednesday, Dec. 13, between Sebastopol Times and Daniel Ziblatt, has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.)
What prompted you to write ‘Tyranny of the Minority’?
I wrote the book How Democracies Die five years ago. And that book was written to really send a set of warnings about the threats facing American democracy and to draw lessons from other countries around the world for the U.S. But as I went around giving talks, people would always ask me what can be done about this. And so this book [Tyranny of the Minority] really is an effort to answer that question. First by doing a kind of deeper diagnosis of what’s gone wrong in America, and then with American democracy. It’s a way of trying to figure out how we can address those underlying problems.
How has ‘Tyranny of the Minority’ been received so far?
I guess pretty well. Our book made it to the New York Times Best Seller list the first week, which is rewarding to know that the book is being read, or at least purchased, widely. I think people are both worried about American democracy, but also eager to try to find ways of trying to address the problems that we face. When I’ve given talks, people seem to want to know what to do, and I try to answer that. Although I certainly don’t have all the answers.
Was ‘Tyranny of the Minority’ written partially to address the upcoming election?
You know, as we wrote it, we didn’t think that Donald Trump would be the nominee. With each draft of it, it seemed to become more and more likely that Donald Trump would be the nominee for the president. And so the stakes for our democracy became much more urgent as we completed the book. And so I think it has some implications for how to think about the stakes of the 2024 election.
Do you foresee a follow-up book to ‘Tyranny of the Minority’?
I hope not. I hope it’s not necessary. I mean, each of these books has been written, in a way, as the crisis facing our democracy has gotten worse in some ways. I hope my next book can be a book of poems or something. But, you know, I study politics, I teach about politics and maybe my next book will be how American democracy revived itself or something. I don’t know. I don’t currently have any plans. Let’s hope that another book is not necessary.
Is it fair to say that you wrote these last two books out of necessity?
I spent most of my career studying European politics and European history, but then felt that suddenly my area of knowledge had gained relevance and that there was an important message for people to understand about what are the factors that make democracy get into trouble and what can be done about that. And I thought there were some lessons that I could offer, and so I hoped they would be useful for people. And so in that sense I did this because I think I had a broader message to pass on to people.
How dire is the crisis in American politics at this moment?
I think there are both reasons for worry and reasons for optimism. The reasons for worry are that there’s roughly a 50% chance that Donald Trump could get elected in 2024. And that should make all of us worried. I mean, there’s been no candidate in American history or really in the democratic world in recent history that has been so overtly authoritarian in their promises on the campaign trail. So that should worry everybody.
The good news, I guess, is that the majority of Americans overwhelmingly support liberal democracy. If all adults who are eligible to vote, vote, I think that our democracy actually has a very robust foundation. And I think young people, in particular, are more committed to the core principles of democracy in a diverse society than any other generation. And so that should give us reason for optimism. But in some sense 2024 is yet to be written. And so, we’ll see.
How does ‘Tyranny of the Minority’ address limitations within the Constitution?
I think that it first addresses why political parties turn away from democracy, which happens pretty rarely in history. But then it also talks about how our constitutional system, which has many strengths to it, also has some vulnerabilities that leave us more vulnerable to authoritarian movements than other established old democracies.
Are there things that individuals can do to foment the change that we need in America to thwart tyranny?
I think that throughout American history American citizens have worked hard to make our Constitution more democratic by pushing political leaders to make reforms to our voting systems [and] to our political systems. Think of women gaining the right to vote at the beginning of the 20th century. Senators — we now directly elect our senators rather than having them appointed. All of these kinds of changes came only after citizens organized and did the hard work of pushing political leaders to make major reforms.
And I think today we live in a very similar moment, where there’s the possibility that we could make our voting systems more democratic by pushing political leaders to [enact] automatic voter registration or pushing for national voting rules that guarantee voting rights across all states. I think there’s also other areas of institutional reform, let’s say term limits on Supreme Court justices. Political leaders only make change when citizens organize and demand change. And so I think that’s something that everybody should realize, that our democracy is in our own hands.
The Occidental Center for the Arts’ upcoming literary event, “Daniel Ziblatt Tyranny of the Minority,” will take place Friday, Jan. 12, from 7-9 p.m. Ziblatt’s former Harvard student, and Occidental native, Tobias Snyder, will join Ziblatt in discussion. Admission is free but space is limited so attendees are asked to register. Suggested donation is $10-$15. Hardcover copies of Tyranny of the Minority will be available on-site for sale and signing. Get tickets.
He will also be speaking to the Rotary Club of Sebastopol on January 12 at 12:15 pm, but this event is limited to Rotary members and their lucky guests.
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If not in town now, is Amazon the only purchase option?
Thank you for so informing.