Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
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- Create Date：2021-09-01 09:51:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Anne Applebaum
- ISBN：1984899503
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Summary
From the United States and Britain to continental Europe and beyond， liberal democracy is under siege， while authoritarianism is on the rise。 In Twilight of Democracy， Anne Applebaum， an award-winning historian of Soviet atrocities who was one of the first American journalists to raise an alarm about antidemocratic trends in the West， explains the lure of nationalism and autocracy。 In this captivating essay， she contends that political systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently appealing， especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone else。
Despotic leaders do not rule alone; they rely on political allies， bureaucrats， and media figures to pave their way and support their rule。 The authoritarian and nationalist parties that have arisen within modern democracies offer new paths to wealth or power for their adherents。 Applebaum describes many of the new advocates of illiberalism in countries around the world， showing how they use conspiracy theory， political polarization， social media， and even nostalgia to change their societies。
Despotic leaders do not rule alone; they rely on political allies， bureaucrats， and media figures to pave their way and support their rule。 The authoritarian and nationalist parties that have arisen within modern democracies offer new paths to wealth or power for their adherents。 Applebaum describes many of the new advocates of illiberalism in countries around the world， showing how they use conspiracy theory， political polarization， social media， and even nostalgia to change their societies。
Reviews
Andrew
，
Despite her constant flexes about how powerful her （ex）friends are， Applebaum’s book is a powerful reminder that the politics of resentment is not unique to America and the lure of authoritarianism is not unique to this moment。
Owen Rataj
，
Covering Brexit vs。 the EU， the recent Coronavirus pandemic， and the rise of extreme politics throughout the world， Anne Applebaum's Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends explores the shift in political perspective in the modern day and how a "new generation" of belief in the system has occurred。 It can be boiled down to one simple explanation: technology。 Technology and the new ease of communication， and ease of information which one can subscribe to and be e Covering Brexit vs。 the EU， the recent Coronavirus pandemic， and the rise of extreme politics throughout the world， Anne Applebaum's Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends explores the shift in political perspective in the modern day and how a "new generation" of belief in the system has occurred。 It can be boiled down to one simple explanation: technology。 Technology and the new ease of communication， and ease of information which one can subscribe to and be easily spoon-fed by。 Anne herself has been directly suspect to this， having her form of medium through her various outlets， such as the Washington Post， becoming rapidly more accessible during the millennium， and then being sidelined by social media and the constant stream of information funneled by think-groups。I enjoyed this mostly due to the recent publication of mid-2020 meaning that Anne's take on events are as recent as can be; with this book being my first published read addressing the Coronavirus。 。。。more
Richard
，
It was good - a very personal viewpoint， written like the journalist she is。 What I mean by that - politics and world events and situations are described， but in the context of her personal contact with the people and situations involved - as a reporter would report on who， what， when， where， why and how come based on their personal knowledge， interviews， observation。 My other impression - this is a frightening book。 It makes the points that: Trumpism is not an isolated thing; authoritarian forc It was good - a very personal viewpoint， written like the journalist she is。 What I mean by that - politics and world events and situations are described， but in the context of her personal contact with the people and situations involved - as a reporter would report on who， what， when， where， why and how come based on their personal knowledge， interviews， observation。 My other impression - this is a frightening book。 It makes the points that: Trumpism is not an isolated thing; authoritarian forces learn from each other's playbooks; growth of democracy is definitely not a sure thing， and in fact democracy may be an oddball exception in the course of human history。 It made me think of a further point （not addressed in this book） - what if the stress on world civilization due to climate change and limited resources， going forward， results in democracy being discarded in favor of authoritarian rule？ 。。。more
Rapeepat Ingkasit
，
เป็น Non Fiction ที่ตัวละครเยอะมากๆ แถมยังเป็นตัวละครที่เราไม่ค่อยคุ้นชินเพราะวนเวียนอยู่กับวงการการเมืองยุโรป โดยรวมแล้วสนุกใช้ได้ แต่เรามองว่ามันไม่ต้องบรรยายยึดยาวขนาดนี้เพื่อนำเสนอประเด็นเรื่องปัญหาในระบอบประชาธิปไตยอาจเป็นเพราะเราอยู่ในไทย ก็เลยไม่ค่อยรู้สึกว่าปัญหาประชาธิปไตยมันไกลตัวมั้ง
Sukadeb
，
A great book to understand why in the recent years politics has moved out of living room discussions and invaded our private lives。 Why we have to choose sides and loose friends just because of their belief in a different political system。 And this is not restricted to one country。 The same phenomena is being replicated across the globe and the book covers a lot of them。
Salman Ahsan
，
Despite being in general agreement with the author， I think this book is a complete waste of time。 No research was conducted while writing the book and， not surprisingly， it gives no fresh insights。
Arthur Ratliff
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She is a member of the wrong political party on the wrong side of history。 I'm not interested in what she and her friends have to say。 She is a member of the wrong political party on the wrong side of history。 I'm not interested in what she and her friends have to say。 。。。more
João Rangel
，
A Applebaum é uma intelectual de direita， jornalista do Spectator entre outras coisas。 É o equivalente da direita liberal e conservadora portuguesa totalmente alérgica ao chamado populismo de direita。 O livro é interessante apenas como testemunho desta "reacção alérgica"。 A Applebaum é uma intelectual de direita， jornalista do Spectator entre outras coisas。 É o equivalente da direita liberal e conservadora portuguesa totalmente alérgica ao chamado populismo de direita。 O livro é interessante apenas como testemunho desta "reacção alérgica"。 。。。more
David
，
I enjoyed reading Appletbuam's autobiographical sketch of her brushes with conservatism during this century。 She presumably wrote this from her home in Poland in 2019-2020， and she has a distinctive European view shaded heavily by The Atlantic types in the US media。 As she makes her way into the final chapters， her momentous sins of omission lead to almost comically off-the-mark conclusions。 It is an almost complete mischaracterization of the dominant forces of trashing US institutions and autho I enjoyed reading Appletbuam's autobiographical sketch of her brushes with conservatism during this century。 She presumably wrote this from her home in Poland in 2019-2020， and she has a distinctive European view shaded heavily by The Atlantic types in the US media。 As she makes her way into the final chapters， her momentous sins of omission lead to almost comically off-the-mark conclusions。 It is an almost complete mischaracterization of the dominant forces of trashing US institutions and authoritarian tendencies over the past twelve months。 。。。more
Anna Harber Freeman
，
Whew， that was a tough slog。 I think I originally read it because it was on Obama’s list。 There were some interesting conclusions and parallels with other countries past and present， but also a lot that I skimmed over。 Most interesting was the way history repeats itself （France first！） and the parallels between the introduction of radio and the rise of Hitler with the internet and the rise of Trump。
Becca Younk
，
First of all， aside from this book， I think I probably disagree with most of Anne Applebaum's political opinions。 But I did appreciate this look at how authoritarian governments are formed， especially since it's from the perspective of someone outside the US， and mostly about countries other than the US also。 I think Applebaum makes her best points when she's quoting others， and I feel like I have a better understanding of how certain people can gain power and have wide support after reading thi First of all， aside from this book， I think I probably disagree with most of Anne Applebaum's political opinions。 But I did appreciate this look at how authoritarian governments are formed， especially since it's from the perspective of someone outside the US， and mostly about countries other than the US also。 I think Applebaum makes her best points when she's quoting others， and I feel like I have a better understanding of how certain people can gain power and have wide support after reading this book。 。。。more
Paula Adams
，
Very detailed。
Zinnia
，
Anne Applebaums bok "Demokratins skymning" är en bok som belyser den förändring som sker just nu i världen。 Med tyngdpunkt på Storbritannien， Polen， Ungern， Spanien och USA。Boken börjar vid en nyårsfest 1989 i Polen。 Landet skall precis bli medlem i EU。 Det råder en stor enighet och framtidshopp。 Boken slutar även i Polen 2020 när pandemin råder i världen。Det politiska landskapet är nu helt nytt。 Vänner är nu inte alltid vänner längre。 Vad som är sanning beror på vem som ställer frågan och vem s Anne Applebaums bok "Demokratins skymning" är en bok som belyser den förändring som sker just nu i världen。 Med tyngdpunkt på Storbritannien， Polen， Ungern， Spanien och USA。Boken börjar vid en nyårsfest 1989 i Polen。 Landet skall precis bli medlem i EU。 Det råder en stor enighet och framtidshopp。 Boken slutar även i Polen 2020 när pandemin råder i världen。Det politiska landskapet är nu helt nytt。 Vänner är nu inte alltid vänner längre。 Vad som är sanning beror på vem som ställer frågan och vem som frågar。 Oberoende domstolar och tidningar är inte längre självklarheter i väst。Det som jag särskilt uppskattade i boken är möten med olika människor。 Hur människor som bekämpat kommunism alltmer börjar använda metoder från de gamla öststaterna。 De som ifrågasätter kallas nazister eller kommunister。 Det finns bara en rätt väg。De som besitter särskilda kunskaper inom olika områden renas bort om de inte är lojala med partiet。 Konservativa värderingar när det gäller homosexuella och feminism paras ihop med växande antisemitism och främlingsfientlighet。 Sammantaget tycker jag att boken tydligt redogör för den värld som är jag själv befinner mig i just nu。Jag var oroad innan och än mer efter att jag läst boken。 。。。more
Julio Reyes
，
Le sobra namedropping y elaborar más algunas buenas ideas que se pierden en la urgencia。
Jerry
，
This is not the type of book that I search out or enjoy reading … i。e。， nonfiction， political， semi-historical， focused on a very depressing aspect of our current circumstances & trends。 Still， it’s well written， interesting， insightful， & I learned quite a lot about the recent history & politics of Poland， Hungary， Spain， & Britain， of which I wasn’t aware。 Applebaum has extensive personal experience in Poland， the U。S。， & Britain and an interesting perspective。 She is conservative， which I am This is not the type of book that I search out or enjoy reading … i。e。， nonfiction， political， semi-historical， focused on a very depressing aspect of our current circumstances & trends。 Still， it’s well written， interesting， insightful， & I learned quite a lot about the recent history & politics of Poland， Hungary， Spain， & Britain， of which I wasn’t aware。 Applebaum has extensive personal experience in Poland， the U。S。， & Britain and an interesting perspective。 She is conservative， which I am not， and has personal experience with many of these now totalitarian-leaning types。 I find her thoughtful insights & perspective interesting and different from the voices I normally listen to。 I’m glad I read the book - it’s easy reading and worthwhile。 。。。more
Jeff Gabriel
，
While certainly a good read for provoking thought， it is primarily a personal experience essay with reference to occasional research or accepted fact。 The author has legitimate reason to work from personal experience， having been up close to many of the important players across the UK， Poland， and the US。I took away two important thoughts to consider from her experience: 1） The new "right" is pessimistic and not interested in good governance。 I tend to think of their methods as cynical， but to d While certainly a good read for provoking thought， it is primarily a personal experience essay with reference to occasional research or accepted fact。 The author has legitimate reason to work from personal experience， having been up close to many of the important players across the UK， Poland， and the US。I took away two important thoughts to consider from her experience: 1） The new "right" is pessimistic and not interested in good governance。 I tend to think of their methods as cynical， but to dig into their underlying philosophy of a destroyed system that doesn't work at all is an additional level of depth which would call for a different playbook for the opposition。 2） There is a professional class involved in creating the ground conditions for the simplistic， jingoistic rallying cries that feed the demagoguery so effective in this political group across the globe。 This is tied into the desire of people for simple solutions in a complex and difficult time。I personally find it interesting to consider how much all of the concerns on both sides are born of looking to government to save you。 The left from a trust of the power of government to level the field and be a benevolent force （even if not always so idealistic in practice）， and the on the right from a trust that powerful leaders can meet their hearts desire to get ahead and stay ahead。 Both are deeply wrong-headed ultimately in my view。 I think the founding philosophy which saw government as necessary， but people as too deeply flawed to run it well - and the need to engage people in their own welfare， has been lost in both sides looking for an all encompassing government to empower their wish fulfillment。 One final thought - reading this book at the same time as Roman history from the era of the fall of republic into autocracy - makes me realize how common and utterly human these struggles over governance really are; and how fragile any one system can be in the right conditions。 。。。more
Joel Mathis
，
"Because all authoritarianisms divide， polarize， and separate people into warring camps， the fight against them requires new coalitions。 Together we can make old and misunderstood words like liberalism mean something again; together we can fight back against lies and liars; together we can rethink what democracy should look like in a digital age。" "Because all authoritarianisms divide， polarize， and separate people into warring camps， the fight against them requires new coalitions。 Together we can make old and misunderstood words like liberalism mean something again; together we can fight back against lies and liars; together we can rethink what democracy should look like in a digital age。" 。。。more
Dr。 Christopher M Rayner
，
Another disgruntled deposed member of the Liberal elite。I had hoped this book might be a thoughtful analysis of current political flux in Western democracies。 It isn't。 The author laments the polarisation of politics and the retreat into their echo chamber silos of the various factions。 Thus far I'm in agreement， but soon the argument degenerates into the all too familiar complaint from remoaners and liberals that they have a monopoly on righteousness and that their opponents are either fools or Another disgruntled deposed member of the Liberal elite。I had hoped this book might be a thoughtful analysis of current political flux in Western democracies。 It isn't。 The author laments the polarisation of politics and the retreat into their echo chamber silos of the various factions。 Thus far I'm in agreement， but soon the argument degenerates into the all too familiar complaint from remoaners and liberals that they have a monopoly on righteousness and that their opponents are either fools or knaves。 Poor。 Very poor。 Democracy does not cease to be democratic once it ceases to agree with you。 Certainly there are objections to some of her opponennts' views， but these do not consist largely of accusing them of lying or ignorance。She dismisses the division of modern citizens into "somewheres" and "anywheres"。 Clearly she is an anywhere， and the somewheres are a lower form。 She is right in her identification of a problem， but has little to offer as a solution beyond a return to the supranational elite government which is being rejected on every hand。 She puts me in mind of a grumpy abbot whose monastery was abolished by Henry VIII。 Peevishly furious about the dissolution， his only solution is a return to Rome。 Watch out for Queen Mary。 。。。more
Larry
，
Encased between two big parties - one two decades ago and one two summers ago - this book is very informative， interesting and a great read。 Many former friendships have completely ruptured with changing ideologies and new relationships， never imagined， have formed。 These relationships couch an exploration of the creep of authoritarianism by examining modern events in Poland， Hungary， Brexit， Spain and America dealing with Conald Trump。 Educational without being boring…this is thought provoking Encased between two big parties - one two decades ago and one two summers ago - this book is very informative， interesting and a great read。 Many former friendships have completely ruptured with changing ideologies and new relationships， never imagined， have formed。 These relationships couch an exploration of the creep of authoritarianism by examining modern events in Poland， Hungary， Brexit， Spain and America dealing with Conald Trump。 Educational without being boring…this is thought provoking and a great exploration。 。。。more
Juan Pablo Iturriaga
，
Tenía mayores expectativas。 Un relato interesante。
mylogicisfuzzy
，
Anne Applebaum makes some good points about today's authoritarianism and extremism but she does so through rose-tinted spectacles and her analysis is somewhat limited。 Firstly， there is a lot of name dropping of friends and colleagues， quite a few of them now former friends/ colleagues who have since turned to right-wing extremism and populism。 Secondly， as a declared Reaganite/ Thatcherite， she is quite biased and simply ignores the disastrous long term effects of some of their neoliberal polic Anne Applebaum makes some good points about today's authoritarianism and extremism but she does so through rose-tinted spectacles and her analysis is somewhat limited。 Firstly， there is a lot of name dropping of friends and colleagues， quite a few of them now former friends/ colleagues who have since turned to right-wing extremism and populism。 Secondly， as a declared Reaganite/ Thatcherite， she is quite biased and simply ignores the disastrous long term effects of some of their neoliberal policies。 She also ignores the effects of the 2008 financial crash， the rising inequality， disenfranchisement and austerity policies。 So， while Twilight of Democracy was an interesting read， it is often one-sided and doesn't really offer any solutions or anything new。 。。。more
🌸 m a r i a 🌸
，
This book is an absolute mess。 For all the author’s paeans to “objective truth，” she doesn’t seem to have any interest in engaging in the rigorous research that would allow for anything but the most shallow understanding of the various instances of authoritarianism she details here。 Her argument is totally unfocused， hamstrung by her compulsive need to draw absolute equivalencies between some monstrous caricature of a “left” that doesn’t seem to actually exist and the very real problem of Neo-fa This book is an absolute mess。 For all the author’s paeans to “objective truth，” she doesn’t seem to have any interest in engaging in the rigorous research that would allow for anything but the most shallow understanding of the various instances of authoritarianism she details here。 Her argument is totally unfocused， hamstrung by her compulsive need to draw absolute equivalencies between some monstrous caricature of a “left” that doesn’t seem to actually exist and the very real problem of Neo-fascism。 She is an immensely wealthy and powerful person with an absurd number of powerful authoritarian ex-friends。 The book is a parade of descriptions of parties and coffee dates and drinks with people like Boris Johnson and Laura Ingraham and a number of other leaders in the rising authoritarian right。 It’s utterly out of sync with the lives of ordinary people of all political positions and is suffused by a deep hatred of the poor and a commitment to the perpetuation of myths of Western supremacy。 The chapter on America is a truly appalling erasure of the history of all but a very small and very elite set of Americans。 She doesn’t care to understand the critiques of the left and so will never truly understand the role her own ideology played in the rise of the kind of ideologies she tries and utterly fails to explain in this book。 She has a very self-serving and limited definition of democracy and has no real interest in hearing the perspectives of anyone who disagrees with her no matter how compelling or well-meaning those critiques。 Any criticisms of the neoliberal order are “pessimistic” and “cacophony” and thus lack any legitimacy and deserve no consideration。 There are far more effective books on authoritarianism and this book contributes nothing of merit to the ongoing discourse on this issue。 。。。more
Jenny
，
If you’re wondering why it’s a big， abhorrent deal a Fox News journalist sat down with Viktor Oban， PM responsible for dismantling democracy in Hungary and creating a state run media， this is a good place to start。
Mitch Friedman
，
Clear and insightful， somewhat terrifying。
Jaryd
，
If you are looking for solutions then this is not the book for you。 But it is enlightening to hear the fracturing of the right in western nations over the past few decades from an insider。
Libby Andrews
，
Fantastic insight into the way politics across the Western world is changing and moving to more authoritarian regimes。 The book looks at how much has changed since the author celebrated the start of a new century 20 years ago。 She focuses on UK， USA， Poland， Hungary， Spain， France & Italy。 She notes how these new regimes distort facts， silence the press and produce simple messages to gain support。 She does leave a more hopeful ending although she points out that throughout history politics and d Fantastic insight into the way politics across the Western world is changing and moving to more authoritarian regimes。 The book looks at how much has changed since the author celebrated the start of a new century 20 years ago。 She focuses on UK， USA， Poland， Hungary， Spain， France & Italy。 She notes how these new regimes distort facts， silence the press and produce simple messages to gain support。 She does leave a more hopeful ending although she points out that throughout history politics and democracy has changed - why would we ever expect it to stay the same？ 。。。more
Lynn Coburn
，
In my opinion， only the last two chapters were interesting and informative。
Hans
，
Brilliant Realistic overview of the movement away from democracy and freedom。 The world is heading towards dictatorships in front of our eyes。
Mshelton50
，
A concise， very well written look at the current global political and cultural situation by Anne Applebaum。 The author stresses the notion first put forward by Julien Benda in the 1920s of "trahison des clercs，" i。e。， that many intellectuals who believe they have not received their due are willing to jettison the search for truth， and instead sell their services to the highest bidder， even if that means supporting authoritarian regimes。 Moves along at a brisk clip， with examples from Applebaum's A concise， very well written look at the current global political and cultural situation by Anne Applebaum。 The author stresses the notion first put forward by Julien Benda in the 1920s of "trahison des clercs，" i。e。， that many intellectuals who believe they have not received their due are willing to jettison the search for truth， and instead sell their services to the highest bidder， even if that means supporting authoritarian regimes。 Moves along at a brisk clip， with examples from Applebaum's personal acquaintance。 。。。more
Billhotto
，