Levitsky and Ziblatt. How Democracies Die. Chapters 1 and 4 ("Introduction" and "Subverting Democracy") 2018
This book examines a variety of nations to identify the factors that can put democratic rule in peril. They show that autocracies usually don't appear as a result of revolutions or bloody coups, but instead are formed after the long-term erosion of democratic norms and the prolonged weakening of democratic institutions like the judiciary and the press.
Chapter 1: Discusses how few authoritarians seize power in sudden and bloody coups; most do so through a slow erosion of democracy. Chavez in Venezuala is discussed as an example. The author states that countries face two tests when stopping autocracy: having parties stop demagogues from taking power in the first place and then, if one does take power, preventing the potential autocrat from subvert democratic institutions. The Introduction closes with a bit on America, saying that the current climate suggests we have failed the first test. However, it remains to be seen if democratic institutions in the US will constrain leaders with autocratic tendencies. The authors are ultimately pessimistic due to our high levels of partisan polarization and the willingness of parties to exercise extreme uses of institutional power.
Chapter 4: Lays out how autocrats in all sorts of nations have eroded democratic norms and institutions (blantant lies, dehumanizing opponents, refusing to compromise, replacing bureaucrats with loyalists, shaping the judiciary, kneecapping political opposition and the press. America is barely mentioned directly but it is easy to draw parallels.
Francis Fukuyama. Political Order and Political Decay (Chapters 1 & 2). Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. 2015
In Political Order and Political Decay, the renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama lays out the delicate balance between three features of a modern state: the rule of law, the means by which the state is held accountable to the public, and the degree of professionalism and autonomy of the state’s bureaucracies. In this important work, Fukuyama emphasizes the importance of merit-based hiring of public employees in helping societies to develop politically and economically. Fukuyama stresses that, to improve the living standards of their societies, state bureaucracies must be capable of educating children, providing security for the citizenry, and carrying out some other critical services. His obverse observation is that, almost invariably, states that do not hire public employees on the basis of merit suffer significant problems of underdevelopment and insecurity. These lessons should be particularly eye-opening to students now, as we confront the Covid-19 virus. As Latin America struggles with efforts to contain the virus, weak bureaucracies in the region that cannot even report how many people are being tested are proving particularly problematic. Of course, Fukuyama also offers some critical lessons about challenges we face in the United States. He stresses that the U.S. system has become prone to permitting politicians with limited technical knowledge to meddle in areas of policy implementation that certain bureaucracies would be more capable of managing. In other words, Fukuyama effectively presaged one of the great lessons from the world’s experience with Covid-19: that, in states where capable bureaucracies are permitted the autonomy to confront the virus in accordance with best practices, the virus has been much more effectively contained. Fukuyama’s work thus helps students reflect on the critical importance of developing capable state bureaucracies and permitting them some autonomy to confront complex technical problems, such as the containment of potentially lethal pathogens.
Michael Loe, “How Can the Press Best Serve a Democratic Society?” New Yorker July 11, 2020
For a while now the press has started to take sides in political debates-Fox for conservatives and republicans and CNN and MSNBC for liberals and democrats. The election of Donald Trump accelerated this process and now many in the press believe the traditional values of objectivity, balance and fairness are outdated. One of the goals of the first amendment was to have a free press in order to have informed citizens. However, the news media today distort the news and filter all information through their particular political bias. Citizens now inform themselves by seeking out information and talking to other like minded individuals on social media.
(Reading Time: 20mins)
Helen Lewis “How Capitalism Drives Cancel Culture.” Atlantic magazine July 14, 2020
Cancel culture is now dominating our society. Cancel culture raises a variety of issues for our students. Cancel culture raises two main issues. First, what individuals and what cultures should be celebrated and what individuals and what cultures should not- Christopher Columbus? Thomas Jefferson? Abraham Lincoln? A sub-point of this issue is who gets to decide- protesters, a city council, a mayor? A second major point concerns our public debate. Everyone agrees you have a right to express your opinion. The question becomes should an individual be fired for not expressing the politically accepted view? Should a copy be put out of business for supporting the wrong political candidate? Should our students be taught to have opinions but to actively act, fight for and protest for those opinions or should we teach our students to be inclusive and respect other individuals with diverse viewpoints.
(Reading Time: 13mins)
Anne Twitty, "Ole Miss's Monument to White Supremacy" The Atlantic. July 2020.
This text--written by a historian--draws on primary source material to undercut claims that confederate monuments are simple historical relics.
(Reading Time: 7mins)