Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times: The Citizenry and the Breakdown of Democracy

For generations, influential thinkers—often citing the tragic polarization that took place during Germany's Great Depression—have suspected that people's loyalty to democratic institutions erodes under pressure and that citizens gravitate toward antidemocratic extremes in times of political and economic crisis. But do people really defect from democracy when times get tough? Do ordinary people play a leading role in the collapse of popular government?


Based on extensive research, this book ...