THE modern authoritarian threat reminds one of an old saying attributed to Mark Twain: “Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” However, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder raised a voice of warning in his 2017 book On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century.

One can pay heed to Snyder’s opening words: “History does not repeat, but it does instruct.” He writes that in a democratic republic based on the law and a system of checks and balances, America’s “founding fathers sought to avoid the evil that they … called tyranny”. Snyder reminds us of 20th-century European history wherein “societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary men can find themselves standing over death pits with guns in their hands”. To understand the sources of tyranny, Snyder presents 20 lessons from the 20th century relating to the present circumstances.

Lesson 1: “Anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy.” The principle of conformity prevails. The advice is: “Do not obey in advance.” Power hungry rulers become ruthless and reckless.

Lesson 2: “Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency.” The autocrats ensure all major institutions are humbled.

‘History does not repeat, but it does instruct,’ says history professor Timothy Snyder.

Lesson 3: “Beware the one-party state.” Support the multiparty system and ensure the legitimacy of democratic elections. The system collapses when a single party seizes........

© Dawn