“ Rebuilding democratic norms after a civil war is never easy, and America was no exception. The wounds of war healed slowly; Democrats and Republicans only grudgingly accepted one another as legitimate… Steven Levitsky
“ In short, most Republican leaders ended up holding the party line. If they had broken decisively with Trump, telling Americans loudly and clearly that he posed a threat to our country’s cherished inst… Steven Levitsky
“ Donald Trump’s first year in office followed a familiar script. Like Alberto Fujimori, Hugo Chávez, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, America’s new president began his tenure by launching blistering rhetorica… Steven Levitsky
“ Democracies work best—and survive longer—where constitutions are reinforced by unwritten democratic norms. Two basic norms have preserved America’s checks and balances in ways we have come to take for… Steven Levitsky
“ But rather than denouncing the coup leaders as an extremist threat, the former president offered them public sympathy—and, with it, an opening to mainstream politics. Steven Levitsky
“ As constitutional scholar Martin Redish put it, If the president can immunize his agents in this manner, the courts will effectively lose any meaningful authority to protect constitutional rights agai… Steven Levitsky
“ An essential test for democracies is not whether such figures emerge but whether political leaders, and especially political parties, work to prevent them from gaining power in the first place—by keep… Steven Levitsky
“ The United States has an impressive record of gatekeeping. Both Democrats and Republicans have confronted extremist figures on their fringes, some of whom enjoyed considerable public support. For deca… Steven Levitsky
“ Primaries could lead to the appearance of extremist candidates and demagogues who, unrestrained by party allegiances, have little to lose by stirring up mass hatreds or making absurd promises. Steven Levitsky
“ We may shed tears on election night when the other side wins, but we do not consider such an event apocalyptic. Put another way, mutual toleration is politicians’ collective willingness to agree to di… Steven Levitsky
“ Scorched-earth tactics often erode support for the opposition by scaring off moderates. And they unify progovernment forces, as even dissidents within the incumbent party close ranks in the face of an… Steven Levitsky
“ Norms are the soft guardrails of democracy; as they break down, the zone of acceptable political behavior expands, giving rise to discourse and action that could imperil democracy. Steven Levitsky
“ In 1999, the Chávez government called elections for a constituent assembly that, in violation of an earlier supreme court ruling, awarded itself the power to dissolve all other state institutions, inc… Steven Levitsky
“ If constitutional rules were enough, then figures such as Perón, Marcos, or Brazil’s Getúlio Vargas—all of whom took office under U.S.-style constitutions that, on paper, contained an impressive array… Steven Levitsky
“ Ford harbored serious presidential ambitions, he was born a century too soon. What mattered far more than public opinion was the opinion of party leaders, and party leaders soundly rejected him. Steven Levitsky
“ Finally, elected autocrats often try to silence cultural figures—artists, intellectuals, pop stars, athletes—whose popularity or moral standing makes them potential threats. Steven Levitsky
“ Convinced that something must finally give, a cabal of rivalrous conservatives convened in late January 1933 and settled on a solution: A popular outsider should be placed at the head of the governmen… Steven Levitsky
“ As key media outlets are assaulted, others grow wary and begin to practice self-censorship. Steven Levitsky
