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Twilight of Democracy

The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends

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Twilight of Democracy

By: Anne Applebaum
Narrated by: Anne Applebaum
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the years just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, conservative politicians and intellectuals across Europe and America celebrated a great achievement, felt a common purpose and, very often, forged personal friendships. The euphoria quickly evaporated, the common purpose and centre ground gradually disappeared and eventually - as this audiobook compellingly relates - the relationships soured too.

Anne Applebaum traces a familiar history in an unfamiliar way, looking at the trajectories of individuals caught up in the public events of the last three decades. When politics become polarised, which side do you back? If you are a journalist, an intellectual, a civic leader, how do you deal with the re-emergence of authoritarian or nationalist ideas in your country? When your leaders appropriate history, or peddle conspiracies, or eviscerate the media and the judiciary, do you go along with it?

Twilight of Democracy is a new kind of political writing, an essay that mixes the personal and the political and brings a fresh understanding to the dynamics of public life in Europe and America, both now and in the past.

©2020 Anne Applebaum (P)2020 Penguin Audio 20th Century Europe Modern Politics & Government World Thought-Provoking Imperialism Interwar Period

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Few people have the historical understanding, East and West, to distill events and shine a light on the changes that we should really be worrying about, the changes that can end life as we know it. Essential reading for anyone who cares about where we, humanity, is headed.

History Distilled to Save Our Time

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I found this short book to be dense, rich and inspiring. Concepts are expressed clearly, often with relevant and varied sources. I felt the psychology of the people involved is traced in a convincing manner, and the dynamics described feel consistent. Definitely recommended.

Important book, full of very good points and ideas

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nothing it was excellent well written and well read by the author. I'd welcome a follow-up that looks at where we are today

To understand better the challenges we face today all we need do is take a little time to examine histot history

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An essential listen in uncertain times. Anne Applebaum's journey and observations gives us an impelling overview of decades of liberal gaines and losses. Great story and well read. A must read!

Essential listen in uncertain times

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This book is worthy of your time. It gives a clear insight to some of the issues that should concern us all. Although I wouldn’t describe myself as somebody with right leaning political opinions, I found my self nodding along with many of the issues the author raises.

I don’t usually comment but....

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A great book - a personal, well-written, up-close analysis of the shift to populism and the extreme right (throughout Europe and beyond). Well observed and full of interesting details that highlight political and personal transformations of formerly optimistic and politically balanced individuals. How many more will mirror these transformations in future, both in Europe and beyond? From rational progressives & centrists to the illiberal extremes (both left and right) - and what will that society will look like, it's a worrying question that will linger long after reading this book.

Clear, heart-felt and incisive observations

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Very well written and read. It's pertinent, concise and personal, which is incredibly helpful. I've read quite a few books on this topic but this one resonated with me the most because it reads like a story. Anne has met and knows quite well most of the people she writes about . This gives her a unique perspective in mapping the changes many of them have undergone politically and personally.
I didn't find it too depressing, her dispassionate analysis and historical perspective actually comforted me.

Cannot recommend enough

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Applebaum threads the needle connecting a surge of anti-democratic forces around the globe, and helps explain their success. She also reminds us that in many ways, history is repeating itself. Required reading.

Insightful and necessary

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Applebaum’s rational and concise take down of the politics of populism is all the better for its simple, very personal stance. But one can’t help thinking that she’s missing the point. By decrying the likes of Trump and Johnson for being hustlers who cannot accept exceptionalism, she fails to acknowledge that exceptionalism in itself is built on a multitude of unfair social & economic systems. She, her husband and her now fractured group of friends have benefited from that system all their lives. They are only exceptional because they were given the chance to be. Is it any wonder that political hustlers are able to stoke the passions of the everyday man? It’s the only way these uneducated, unexceptional people can ruffle the feathers of the establishment.

Politics eating itself

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Economist journalist and historian Anne Applebaum has written a very personal account chronicling of her experiences of the rise of popularism and the impact it is having on the Western world. The book begins at a new years party in Poland at the dawn of the 21st century and charts the changes in the political viewpoints of some of the attendees over the next two decades in which we see the impact of a pre-disposition to authoritarianism which leads to people admiring demagogues and the erosion of democracy. As a previous colleague of Boris Johnson at the Spectator we hear first hand from Applebaum her analysis of how he, and Trump, have used "restorative nostalgia" to fuel nationalism to force through their personal agenda eg Brexit, and wall with Mexico. Applebaum considers how a nation is defined and how leaders use a "moral equivalent" argument to justify that meritocracy is the same of democracy and this encourages further authoritarianism.

There is, of course, nothing new with this tactic and we hear how, in 1890s France, the Dreyfus treason trial was used as a scapegoat for the failings of the state. Applebaum brings her analysis up to date with the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic that has lead to increased powers for the state that certain world leaders will find it hard to relinquish.

The solemn atmosphere of forced patriotism

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