视频说明
84% of Americans believe US democracy is in crisis or facing a serious challenge.
That statistic alone made me want to sit down with someone who has spent decades studying how democracies weaken, how trust collapses and what happens to societies when people stop believing in institutions.
So today, I’m joined by historian Anne Applebaum on The Diary Of A CEO.
Anne has been studying how democracies collapse and how authoritarian systems take hold. She’s written extensively about Russia, propaganda, political corruption and the psychology of power.
What surprised me most is that she believes many of the warning signs she once studied abroad are now appearing inside Western democracies - ****could this be something that she’s never seen before? **😳
We spoke about:
- Why America should be nervous?!
- Why she thinks THIS is the part before the collapse…
- The hidden reason powerful people stop speaking out.
- Why many global allies no longer fully trust the United States.
- The real reason authoritarian leaders appeal to people.
One thing Anne said that really stayed with me was that democracy requires people to preserve the rules even when those rules allow their opponents to win, and once people stop believing in the fairness of the system, everything changes.
There were several moments in this conversation where I found myself thinking, ‘this sounds impossible’ but then Anne would explain how similar things had already happened before in other countries.
Anne doesn’t speak emotionally or dramatically - she speaks historically.
Whether you agree with Anne’s conclusions or not, this episode will definitely make you think differently about the world around you.