Resources
V-Dem, one of the most important institutions monitoring the global state of democracy, produces with its 2024 report the largest global dataset on current processes and dangers. Concise yet insightful, this is an incredible source for up-to-date information.
Two of the most important experts on democratic backsliding, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, explore through various historical case studies how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power. A must read.
Influential anthropologist and activist David Graeber looks at the protest movement he helped establish – Occupy Wall Street. He analyzes its birth, impact and outcomes, and examines what it can reveal about the democratic concept in modern times.
Serving as a warning of what he calls “America’s turn towards authoritarianism”, historian Timothy Snyder provides a short and useful guide to civil resistance in the face of uprising tyranny. With important lessons such as “Defend institutions” and “Believe in truth” this is a good book to read even in the best of times.
What does it mean to live in a democracy? “Democracy Works” seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between. An NPR production, this podcast offers listeners intriguing conversations with a variety of democracy experts.
This prize winning documentary captures the large-scale non-violent protest movement in Serbia which led the toppling of Slobodan Milošević’s regime in 2000. Focusing on the student group that led the movement, this is an inspiring movie for any activist group which aspires to lead a hopeful victory.