Four Threats

With a comprehensive analysis, this book reflects on the clear signs of damage to the pillars of the American democracy. Democracy is breaking down due to four threats – political polarization, racism, rising economic inequality and executive aggrandizement – that are gradually eroding this monumental institution that has survived too many crises. These four threats have separately emerged across the American history, but what is happening nowadays is a clear exception. The contemporary American democracy is facing an incredible convergence of all four threats and the Constitution itself is not sufficient to secure its eternal existence. This democratic decay is not inevitable and Americans, by learning from times of crises in the past, are once again called to defend, strengthen and revitalize democracy and prevent its backsliding.

I felt very lucky to receive an advance copy of the book I heard about on NPR earlier this summer, “Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy”, by Suzanne Mettler and Robert Lieberman. It released today in hardcover.
This book takes a long look at the history of the United States and its relationship to the ideals of democracy, focusing on five crisis periods the 1790s, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Depression, and Watergate. What the authors posit is that each of these historical crises included at least one of the “four threats”: increased political polarization/a perceived lack of legitimacy of the opposition, racism/nativism, economic inequality, and excessive executive power. They go on to state that THIS period of history, right now, is the only time that all four of those threats have existed at once.

This book, while not a light summer beach read, it is also very compelling. The authors implore Americans to consider that we “cannot take it for granted that democratic politics will endure if we do not pay careful attention to the democracy-enhancing (or democracy-eroding) consequences of the things we do in politics.” The book rejects the idea that democracy can function as an “all-out high stakes battle” meant to “eliminate and vanquish foes” and urges all of us to pay continuous attention to the threats to democracy that we face in our nation at this time.

Good stuff. Scary stuff.
#netgalley #thefourthreats

Honestly, in the introduction alone, I wished that my AP US History class had this as a textbook instead of the glossed over “America has always been a democracy since day 1, with that little civil war towards the end of the 19th century” version that I had.

As a Millennial, I think it’s important to know that the never ending existential crisis regarding identity politics and the fragility of democracy is not something new, as older generations tend to imply. But rather, America has always had some threats building up or falling - and we are approaching a very important test for democracy.

Rating because it has a lot of good information, but is a bit repetitive and could be more concise.

Wow, this is a stunning book! Four Threats unpacks times in history when democracy was most threatened in America (like Watergate and the Depression) and emerges with four common social forces that caused these threats: polarisation, inequality, unregulated corporate influence, and racism. Many will recognize these forces in our current political climate, which this book seeks to warn about: this moment shows us that our democratic values and systems are under attack, but we can learn from history and change direction.

5 stars!

An excellent book, and a must read. As the modern GOP continues to find ever more ways to undermine democracy in America (restricting access to voting, watering down citizens' rights in comparison to corporations, etc.), it is almost imperative that American citizens -- and those with an interest or stake in the United States -- understand the history of democracy and how it has been undermined over the course of America's relatively brief history.

Well written and researched, it's not a breezy read, but it is a rewarding one.