"How Democracies Die": American Politics Under President Donald Trump

In their startling book on how democracies die Levitsky and Ziblatt show from acomparative perspective that even consolidated democracies like the United States might erode. They identify the deliberate destruction of democratic norms as the key cause of erosion and thus triggered avigorous debate within political science that is recounted here. Moreover, this literature report adds arguments that the US moves towards an oligarchy as well as policy analysis research demonstrating how asymmetrical balance of power relations within the American society undermine the democratic system. Social inequality and injustice are viewed as consequences of asymmetrical opportunities of political participation. Acting strategically certain elites pursue their interests uninhibitedly and ultimately at the expense of democratic principles. Distinct research programs on norm erosion on the one hand and on social and participatory inequalities on the other demonstrate that the comparative democracy analysis is based on two contending social theories: According to rationalism actors pursue invariant preferences. Democracy emerges when actors conflict and are forced to aggregate their interests. According to constructivism preferences of actors can be transformed. The consequence of the pursuit of conflicts is less the assertion of interest as finding compromise solutions above and beyond aggregation and the emergence of shared norms of democratic appropriateness as well as asocial (or democratic) community. Further research on democracy will have to show whether consolidated democracies die as aresult of dysfunctional pursuit of preferences or the erosion of norms and social communities.