Democracy in the Shadow of Authoritarianism

In this conversation, political analyst Bill Kristol and Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt—co-author of How Democracies Die—discuss the alarming authoritarian trends emerging during Trump's second term. They explore the rapid erosion of democratic institutions, the consolidation of power through executive orders, and the silence of civic and political elites. Drawing comparisons to historical regimes, they underscore the urgent need for institutional resistance, referencing the book Ruling Oneself Out: A Theory of Collective Abdication to explain how democracies can collapse through elite inaction.