DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
The written rules of democracy are insufficient to protect against tyranny
“Democracy is often described in two opposite ways, as either wonderfully resilient or dangerously fragile. Curiously, both characterizations can be correct, depending on the context.” So opens When Democracy Breaks, a new collection of studies in democratic erosion and collapse. The volume, available for download, was co-edited by HKS Professor and Ash Center Director Archon Fung, HBS Professor David Moss, and Yale Professor Odd Arne Westad. The 11 episodes studied—from Athens to Weimar Germany to present-day Turkey, Russia, and Venezuela—do not identify a single causal factor, but show that a long erosion preceded the final breakdown. “We see again and again that the written rules of democracy are insufficient to protect against tyranny. They are mere ‘parchment barriers’ unless embedded within a strong culture of democracy,” the co-editors write. |