Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

Here, Applebaum argues against the idea that the 2008 economic recession or Europe’s migrant crisis caused by the 2016 Syrian civil war could be driving the rise of anti-democratic movements today. Specifically, she points out that large numbers of immigrants do not historically always cause anti-democratic movements to emerge. Also, xenophobic movements have targeted groups that successfully integrated, like the Nazi assault on German Jews (107-08). While Applebaum acknowledges that economic inequality has become a major issue, it “does not explain why […] everybody got very angry” (108).

Instead, Applebaum traces the recent emergence of anti-democratic movements to changes in communication and technology:

Alongside the revival of nostalgia, the disappointment with meritocracy, and the appeal of conspiracy theories, a part of the answer may lie in the contentious, cantankerous nature of modern discourse itself: the ways in which we now read about, think about, her, and understand politics (109).

The rise of the internet and social media heightened disagreements and the awareness of diversity. Also, Applebaum argues it has led to the end of any kind of national consensus: “In many advanced democracies there is now no common debate, let alone a common narrative” (113).