Democracy in Danger: A Conversation with Daniel Ziblatt

On Wednesday, May 6, members of the Bard College Berlin community and the wider Berlin public gathered at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung for a conversation between Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University and Joshua Yaffa, BCB Writer in Residence, about the erosion of democracy in the US and the prospects for its restoration.

In How Democracies Die (2018), published in the midst of Trump’s first Presidential term, Daniel Ziblatt and his co-author Steven Levitsky offered an admonitory elaboration on the famous Mark Twain phrase: “History doesn’t repeat itself. But it rhymes. The promise of history is that we can find the rhymes before it is too late.” Now, and in his recent work Tyranny of the Minority (2023), Ziblatt describes the US as a competitive authoritarian regime, a hybrid political order that recollects 1930s authoritarianism but maintains a veneer of normality and democratic process.

Joshua Yaffa quoted from an article co-authored by Ziblatt from Foreign Affairs stating that “In 2025, the United States ceased to be a full democracy in the way that Canada, Germany, or even Argentina are democracies.” Grounds for this view are many instances of authoritarian repression in the country: politically motivated assaults on civil society and state institutions and on the freedoms of the public sphere, and violations of basic human and civil rights.

The air of normality still obscuring this picture derives in part from the asynchronous mode of operation adopted by current US authoritarianism. Everyday life remains undisturbed for the majority of citizens, while others experience (for example) the disruption and violence of ICE raids. The semblance of a democratic mandate also persists. Although MAGA, as Ziblatt pointed out, is a “minority movement,” the Electoral College system ensured its success, while a longstanding practice of gerrymandering has weighted electoral districts in favor of the Republican party. Forming the Supreme Court on the basis of political appointments and failing to revise or reform the constitution have exacerbated the rightward drift of the country, to the extent that any future correction would require an overwhelming victory for progressive forces on “this tilted playing field.”
Ziblatt offered some grounds for optimism. Trump’s currently declining popularity indicates the potential for a democratic renewal. Many vital measures could still be taken in this direction. Aside from reforming the Electoral College and Supreme Court, Ziblatt cited the importance of modifying the Voting Rights Act, and introducing a decennial adjustment to congressional representation that would end the overrepresentation of rural areas.

In answer to a question from the audience about young voters’ disengagement from politics, Ziblatt stressed how essential it was to have a clear message and vision, and to draw inspiration from past political movements. Anger and exhaustion with corruption, as in the recent elections in Hungary, should be a powerful motivator for change.

This event is part of the “Writing Democracy” series, organized by the European Democracy Institute at Bard College Berlin and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. A recording of the livestream is available for viewing via the website of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
 

Post Date: 06-03-2026