How to Save Democracy | How To Academy

Thu, 11 January 2024

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm GMT

How to Save Democracy

Harvard Profs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt In Conversation With Hannah MacInnes

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Trump’s Republican nomination seems all but inevitable. Harvard Profs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt ask: why do political parties turn against democracy – and what can be done to save it?

We live in dangerous times. Right-wing efforts to undermine the foundations of the political system present a real and profound threat to world’s oldest liberal democracy. How can we make sense of the authoritarian turn in American politics – from the capital riots to Donald Trump’s astonishing lead in the run-up to the Republican nomination?

Harvard Profs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are experts in the rise and fall of democratic governments and authoritarian regimes – and now they join us to share their insights into the present and future of American politics.

What role do factors from election losses to demographic change and voting rights have to play in this picture? What do examples ranging from 1930s France to present-day Thailand tell us about the threat to the US? Most important of all: can American democracy be saved? Join us for answers to all these questions and more.

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Steven Levitsky

Professor of Government, Harvard University

Steven Levitsky is Professor of Government at Harvard University. His research and teaching focus on political parties, democracy and authoritarianism and weak and informal institutions in Latin America and across the developing world. He is the author of two books, Competitive Authoritarianism and Informal Institutions and Democracy.

Daniel Ziblatt

Professor of Government, Harvard University

Daniel Ziblatt, a Professor of Government at Harvard University, is a leading authority on contemporary Europe and democracy and authoritarianism in Europe from the 19th century to the present. He is the author of Structuring the State and Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy, of which Francis Fukuyama said ‘revolutionizes the literature on democratic transitions’.

Hannah MacInnes

Presenter, Podcaster and Host of How To Academy’s live programmes.

Hannah MacInnes is a broadcaster and journalist. Alongside hosting How To Academy’s live programmes and podcast, she presents a cultural show on Times Radio and interviews on-stage at a number of other major literary events. She is the host of The Klosters Forum Podcast series and has written for the Radio Times, the Evening Standard and TLS. Before going freelance she worked for 8 years at BBC Newsnight, as Planning Editor and as a Producer / Filmmaker.