Spring in the Dessert

Being Curious

How Democracies Die

“The drift into authoritarianism doesn’t always set off alarm bells. Citizens are often slow to realize that their democracy is being dismantled even as it happens before their eyes.”  Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblat - How Democracies Die

Today, the slide from democracy to autocracy happens in small increments, over a period of time. Unlike the coup that ends an elected regime abruptly and, in most cases violently; democracies, in the modern political world are killed slowly by the leaders who are elected to protect that very system which they used to get to power in the first place. This, is the premise of the book “How Democracies Die”

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are Harvard University’s political scientists and this book by them comes at a time, when democracies across the world are being threatened by right wing alpha male leaders. The book is a warning, an alarm, to the ascension of demagogues and helps to identify the preceding signs. Although the book focuses on the US (the idea of the book is prompted by the election of Trump) it uses case studies of leaders from other countries including Putin in Russia, Erdoğan in Turkey, Orbán in Hungary and Maduro in Venezuela. Based on these studies, the authors outline four key indicators, or warning signs, of authoritarian behavior that is detrimental to democracy (1) the rejection, in words or action, of the democratic rules of the game, (2) the denial of the legitimacy of political opponents, (3) toleration or encouragement of violence, and (4) a willingness to curtail civil liberties of opponents, including the media. If we consider these key indicators, there is no denying the fact that Democracies across the world are facing existential threats from big, loud mouthed and divisive nationalist leaders.

In addition to the 4 indicators, the authors also identify two crucial informal norms (the unspoken/unwritten rules) as the pillars of democracy (other than the formal institutions and processes), (1) mutual toleration and (2) institutional forbearance. These informal norms are also being undermined in the recent times, when leaders are focusing on their short-term gains as against the long-term benefits for the nation/people they govern.

The book could have had an increased focus on influence of social media in the democratic process. We have seen in the recent elections of US and India that social media has played a significant role in swaying the though process of voters and thereby the votes and results. Social media (ab)use had a similar effect on the Brexit vote too. We also have most of the leaders today communicating through this medium rather than the traditional media. At times it feels like the US is governed through a series of Twitter posts.

The solutions provided in the book are primarily through lessons from history, which may or may not be applicable in today's world. The solutions also sound too idealistic in the current environment. Nevertheless, this is an interesting and important book which has come out at an appropriate time, especially for us. While we are not seeing all the 4 indicators consistently, there surely are green shoots here and there. As for the 2 informal norms (mutual toleration and institutional forbearance), I am sure the evidence is there for everyone to see (esp., if you watch the 9:00 P.M. special debates). The book is even more important now, considering that there is no visible or audible political opposition today in this country – which, for me, is the first sign of the slide in a democracy.

Life of the Purposefully Unrushed

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles.

A Gentleman in Moscow is an exquisite tale, that for most parts moves like a stream, at a languid pace and then all of a sudden takes a surprising turn and crashes down with the power and beauty of a mighty falls.

Post the Russian Revolution, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is condemned to lifelong house arrest in the majestic Hotel Metropol in Central Moscow by a Bolshevik tribunal. He would be shot if he ever steps out of the hotel. And so the story goes on as Count Rostov moves to a disused servant’s quarters (more of an attic) in the hotel and becomes, from an aristocrat, to a waiter and stays on for 32 years, till he makes a stunning escape.

In those 32 years we travel through the turbulent times of Russia, from the Bolshevik upheaval, to the tyrannical times of Stalin (to think that one of our political leaders is named after this dictator who condemned and killed millions of his own folk!) and to Second World War.

For the generation (at least for Sree and me) who grew up on NCBH (New Century Book House on Mount Road, Chennai, was a beautiful place filled with the fragrance of new books, that had amazing illustrations and top notch print and paper quality), Maxim Gorky’s Mother and the romanticism of communism; would be able to connect, reminisce and eventually be disappointed with the reality of the times gone by (there is a remark on Gorky in the book, which would shake those who revered Gorky and The Mother).

The Novel, is a series of lessons on culture, and Gentlemanness (I know it is not a word, but it does sounds appropriate) during some very difficult times), with references to fine wine, books and music (the three core elements of a good life, wouldn’t you agree?). The book is a discourse on moral discipline, but done with a light humor and charm that it hardly sounds preachy at any time (also, there is an awesome reference to Casablanca that is beautifully appropriate).
Narrated in third person, you become a part of the ensemble and grow alongside the characters. Some of them so wonderful, you make friends with them, you hate- just the one character and surely will fall in love with a few.

This is just the second novel for American author Amor Towles ( the first being Rules of Civility, also a best seller). Towles, left behind a successful investment profession of 22 years to become a successful novelist. It took more than 3 years for Towles to finish The Gentleman in Moscow and every page is a testament to that spectacular effort.

Quotes from the book, that I liked most:

• If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.
• What matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.
• If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue
• To what end, he wondered, had the Divine created the stars in heaven to fill a man with feelings of inspiration one day and insignificance the next?
•  Life does not proceed by leaps and bounds. It unfolds. At any given moment, it is the manifestation of a thousand transitions. Our faculties wax and wane, our experiences accumulate and our opinions evolve--if not glacially, then at least gradually. Such that the events of an average day are as likely to transform who we are as a pinch of pepper is to transform a stew.