Democracy And Its Discontents In Latin America – A Talk With Steven Levitsky

Democracy is not in great health anywhere around the world. In Latin America, not least, a whopping 71% of the population is dissatisfied with how democracy works, up from the 51% mark in 2009, according to a regional pollster. But for the author of 2018 bestseller How Democracies Die, there really is no evidence that voters prefer any alternative. This is a conversation with Harvard's Steven Levitsky and AS/COA's Holly K. Sonneland.

The book's focus is mostly on the United States, but it conveys the general point that democratically-elected leaders are key culprits of democratic erosion worldwide. In this podcast, Levitsky delves into the particulars of this in Latin America by drawing on the history of strongmen in the region, and the more recent authoritarian systems that have sprung up. 

Leaders who promise to solve problems with a “magic wand” still have too much leeway, and controls on power are too weak. So while the dictum that "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried" holds its ground, there's plenty of improvement ahead for democratic systems in the region.