“ Collective abdication—the transfer of authority to a leader who threatens democracy—usually flows from one of two sources. The first is the misguided belief that an authoritarian can be controlled or… Steven Levitsky
“ The gatekeepers of the invisible primary were not merely invisible; by 2016, they had left the building entirely. Steven Levitsky
“ The goal, as a state senator from North Carolina put it, was to write a good square, honest law that will always give a good Democratic majority. Steven Levitsky
“ Democracies do have written rules (constitutions) and referees (the courts). But these work best, and survive longest, in countries where written constitutions are reinforced by their own unwritten ru… Steven Levitsky
“ And when the opposition fights dirty, it provides the government with justification for cracking down. Steven Levitsky
“ Together with black enfranchisement, immigration has transformed American political parties. These new voters have disproportionately supported the Democratic Party. The nonwhite share of the Democrat… Steven Levitsky
“ When we agree with our political rivals at least some of the time, we are less likely to view them as mortal enemies. Steven Levitsky
“ When the government’s approval rating is low, media and opposition grow more brazen, judges become emboldened to stand up to the president, and allies begin to dissent. Steven Levitsky
“ The challenges to Obama’s legitimacy were different in two important ways. First, they were not confined to the fringes, but rather accepted widely by Republican voters. Steven Levitsky
“ Decade later, Alabama governor George Wallace’s defiant segregationist stance vaulted him to national prominence, leading to surprisingly vigorous bids for the presidency in 1968 and 1972. Steven Levitsky
“ It is difficult to overstate the tragic significance of these events. Because civil and voting rights were regarded by many southern Democrats as a fundamental threat, the parties’ agreement to abando… Steven Levitsky
“ The final warning sign is a readiness to curtail the civil liberties of rivals and critics. One thing that separates contemporary autocrats from democratic leaders is their intolerance of criticism, a… Steven Levitsky
“ In an op-ed in the Lexington Herald Leader, Mitch McConnell urged states to ignore Obama’s regulatory order limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It was a stunning undermining of federal authority. Steven Levitsky
“ Second, unlike past episodes of extremism, this wave reached into the upper ranks of the Republican Party. Steven Levitsky
“ America failed the first test in November 2016, when we elected a president with a dubious allegiance to democratic norms. Donald Trump’s surprise victory was made possible not only by public disaffec… Steven Levitsky
“ The Republican House members also moved ahead with impeachment without bipartisan support, which meant that President Clinton would almost certainly not be convicted by the Senate (he was acquitted th… Steven Levitsky
“ Over the past two years, we have watched politicians say and do things that are unprecedented in the United States—but that we recognize as having been the precursors of democratic crisis in other pla… Steven Levitsky
“ Constitutions must be defended—by political parties and organized citizens, but also by democratic norms. Steven Levitsky
“ The other major factor diminishing the power of traditional gatekeepers was the explosion of alternative media, particularly cable news and social media. Whereas the path to national name recognition… Steven Levitsky
