How to Save Democracy: The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook

How do democracies die? We’re watching it happen in real time. Elected domestic and international leaders are undermining democratic institutions, weaponizing government agencies, and fueling dangerous polarization. Turn on the news—or scroll social media—and the result is everywhere: fear, anger, and a growing sense of helplessness as citizens wonder, I’m just one person—what can I possibly do?

More than simple analysis, How to Save Democracy: The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook empowers everyday citizens with practical, peaceful steps to turn anxiety into action and defend democratic institutions. Drawing on history, scholarly research, and her own experience working with refugees across Europe and Asia, Melissa Dalton-Bradford lays out core patterns in the authoritarian playbook, provides global examples of how these patterns have played out in history and modern day, and offers solutions for how citizens—as individuals and as groups—can take immediate action to reverse the erosion of democracy in their communities.