Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

At several points in Twilight of Democracy, Appelbaum is open about her political beliefs, like describing herself and her guests as free-market liberals (2), mentioning that she wrote for right-wing American publications (159), and identifying with the Republican Party of the United States until 2008 (162). How do you think Appelbaum’s politics impact Twilight of Democracy? Do you think her political bias undermines her main arguments? Why or not?

Throughout Twilight of Democracy, Appelbaum compares diverse right-wing movements and parties, like Vox, Brexit, Fidesz, Law and Justice, and the Trump campaign. List and explain four traits that most, if not all, of these groups and movements have in common, according to Appelbaum.

Do you believe right-wing groups and movements like Fidesz, Law and Justice, Brexit, Vox, and Trump can be categorized together under Appelbaum’s definition of authoritarianism? Why or why not?

Appelbaum pays far more attention to right-wing examples of authoritarianism than left-wing examples, although she does highlight examples like British political Jeremy Corbyn (19), the American anarchist Emma Goldman (145-46), and the American radical group the Weather Underground (146-47). Do you think Appelbaum is correct in seeing the same traits of authoritarianism in left-wing and right-wing individuals and movements? Why or why not?

Imagine you are writing a blog post trying to convince people not to believe one of the Medium-Size Lies described in Twilight of Democracy. What would you write? How do you think it might be effective?

Appelbaum argues that political parties and agendas can use new forms of media to gain support. List and discuss four ways social media and the internet, either from Twilight of Democracy or from your own experience, can be used to convince people to support a political agenda.

Using specific examples from Twilight of Democracy, discuss how you might try to convince a friend or family member not to support an authoritarian movement or political party.

Appelbaum writes that a core question raised by Twilight of Democracy is, “Who are we?” (178). How do you think Appelbaum answers her own question with her book?