Book Chapter

Authoritarianism Then and Now

Author
  • Stephen Skowronek
Published
August 10, 2026
Publication
Democracy's Challenges
Discipline
Areas of Study
Geographic Areas
Document Control Number(s)
  • ISPS 26-17
Citation

Skowronek, S. (2026). Authoritarianism Then and Now. In B. Bauer, S. Issacharoff, R. Pildes, & R. Po (Eds.), Democracy’s Challenges: 100 Ideas (pp. 90–93). NYU Press. 

Abstract

Government and politics in the United States have come to epitomize a world-wide drift toward authoritarianism. How is it, then, that America resisted a similar slide in the 1930s? The simple answer, not without weight, is that America in the 1930s was led by a charismatic president who was committed to democracy’s advance. But look closer, and several complications quickly come into view.

Description

Full original chapter