Monday, April 08, 2024 - 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
210 Ham Smith
Drawing on insights from their latest book, Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard University, will present a wealth of examples – from 1930s France to present-day Thailand – to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They will also offer reflections on the current state of democracy in the United States, and the ways the Constitution leaves the United States vulnerable to attacks from within, arguing that It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Levitsky and Ziblatt will also present examples from other democracies – from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand – who have taken steps to update and strengthen their governmental frameworks, and present strategies for reforming U.S. democracy.
The Holden Lecture is supported by the John T. Holden Memorial Fund in the College of Liberal Arts, which was established in 1995 in memory of John Holden, one of the university’s outstanding teachers of political science, who served that department for 25 years, many as chair. The fund is dedicated to bringing signal scholars in the social sciences to UNH.
