Wine glasses clinked and conversation buzzed as the Democrats Abroad Guadalajara Book Club settled in for its latest meeting in the city’s Centro Histórico. Then chair Gaby Moreno posed the night’s opening question: “Do you see any parallels between what was mentioned in the book and the current situation?”
The response was instant — a ripple of rueful laughter, the kind that says that’s an understatement. Members began ticking off disturbing trends, noting how closely the scenarios in “How Democracies Die” — published in 2018 by Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt — resemble today’s headlines.
“It’s like these writers read the playbook,” one participant observed.
Gathering monthly around snacks, red wine and a shared sense of urgency about the current political situation in the United States, the DA–Guadalajara Book Club — formally titled “Building Community and Saving Democracy” — is part of a broader effort by Democrats Abroad to keep U.S. citizens politically engaged while living overseas, while also offering a way to build friendships and community far from home.
A framework for today
Levitsky and Ziblatt argue that democracies rarely collapse overnight. Instead, elected leaders gradually chip away at institutions and norms: stretching executive power, delegitimizing opponents, and fueling polarization through what they call “constitutional hardball.”
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