The twilight of democracy

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian explains with searing clarity why democratic elites around the world are turning to nationalism and authoritarianism. Named Book of the Year by The Washington Post and The Financial Times.

From the United States and Great Britain to continental Europe, Asia, and South America, liberal democracies are at risk, while authoritarianism is on the rise. In *The Twilight of Democracy *, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum, one of the first journalists to sound the alarm about anti-democratic trends in the West, exposes the magnetism of nationalism and autocracy. She argues that political systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently attractive, especially when they benefit those loyal to them and exclude everyone else.

Anne Applebaum states that "Authoritarians need people to promote riots or initiate coups. But they also need people who can use sophisticated legal language, able to argue that breaking the Constitution or bending the law is the right thing to do. They need people who can voice grievances, manipulate discontent, channel anger and fear, and imagine a different future."

The authoritarian and nationalist parties that have emerged within modern democracies offer new trajectories for wealth and for those who join them. Anne Applebaum describes some of the new proponents of illiberalism in various countries and demonstrates how they use conspiracy theories, political polarization, social media, and a touch of nostalgia to change society.

By brilliantly dissecting the changes that have shaken the world, The Twilight of Democracy offers an urgent discussion and a fundamental glimpse of the path back to democratic values.