"Public Square"/ Ziblatt: Democracy is under attack, but remains the best system to protect freedom

2026-04-11 19:15:00, Politikë CNA

"Public Square"/ Ziblatt: Democracy is under attack, but remains the

In the next episode of Public Square, invited by Ditmir Bushati was Daniel Ziblatt, professor of government at Harvard University, director of the Center for European Studies at Harvard and co-author of the well-known books "How Democracies Die" and "The Tyranny of the Minority".

The conversation focused on the state of democracy in the United States, the challenges of liberal democracies in the West, the transatlantic relationship, as well as the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on democratic life.

Ziblatt assessed that the US is not simply experiencing a “shift,” but an authoritarian attack on democracy, emphasizing that such signs are visible when the outcome of elections is questioned, when violent rhetoric is used against opponents, and when the legitimacy of political rivals is denied. According to him, these developments have led to the erosion of basic democratic norms and a decline in the quality of American democracy.

An important part of the discussion was devoted to the unwritten rules of democracy, which Ziblatt considered as important as the Constitution and formal laws. He underlined two fundamental pillars, mutual tolerance, i.e. the acceptance of the rival as a legitimate opponent, and institutional restraint, which requires the government not to use to the maximum every formal competence at its disposal.

In his analysis of international developments, Ziblatt said that the costs to authoritarian regimes are lower today than they used to be, due to the weakening of the Western consensus on democracy promotion. He argued that when democracy is challenged in large and powerful countries like the US, the consequences are not only national, but also shake the international order.

Speaking about US-Europe relations, Ziblatt defended the thesis that the European Union has been and remains in the strategic interest of the United States, warning that the weakening of the European project and the transatlantic alliance would bring more uncertainty to Europe itself and to the Western order as a whole.

Ziblatt emphasized that, despite debates about the economic efficiency of different systems, democracy remains the best form of government for protecting fundamental freedoms, guaranteeing civil liberties, and peacefully removing bad leaders through elections. According to him, if societies fail to provide a convincing answer to the question “why democracy?”, then they risk losing not only democratic institutions, but also the battle for the idea of ??democracy itself.

“I think we have seen an erosion of basic democratic norms in American politics over the last ten years. Many international organizations have noted a decline in American democracy. The US has many strengths. There are a number of unwritten rules that preserve democracy. This is particularly important for the US. When you talk about the EU or the US, there is the idea that we should promote democracy. This has been at the center of foreign policy. This has created an atmosphere and an environment where the costs on the international stage have increased significantly.

"With the rise of Artificial Intelligence companies, things have taken a new turn. I have a hard time understanding why this kind of support is coming ," Ziblatt said.