Authoritarian Playbook Details Tactics for Undermining Democracy, Warns Against Gradual Erosion of Norms
A detailed analysis, drawing from the book 'How Democracies Die' by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, outlines the 'authoritarian playbook' which describes how democracies are increasingly undermined from within, rather than through overt coups. This playbook identifies several key moves: 'Capture the referees,' which involves packing or pressuring neutral institutions like courts, prosecutors, and electoral authorities with loyalists; 'Sideline the players,' meaning neutralizing political rivals, business leaders, and media owners through legal or financial means; and 'Rewrite the rules,' by changing constitutions, electoral laws, and voting regulations to secure an advantage. The analysis also highlights the exploitation of crises to accelerate these moves, using emergencies as pretexts to expand power and suppress dissent. The core idea is that these actions, often appearing legal individually, cumulatively erode democratic guardrails, making the process difficult to recognize until it's too late. 
