The Breakdown Episodes
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Sixth Session)
In this sixth episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky use Hungary’s surprise electoral ouster of Viktor Orbán as a springboard to discuss how opposition forces can still win unfair elections, the challenges of governing and consolidating democracy afterward, and recent U.S. backsliding moves such as the SPLC indictment and Voting Rights Act rollback.
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Seventh Session)
In this seventh episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky look ahead to summer 2026, highlighting key risks to U.S. democracy and noting signs of resilience in mass civic resistance, diminished fear of dissent, and Trump’s growing electoral vulnerability.
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Fifth Session)
In this fifth episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky discuss new V‑Dem and Freedom House data showing the U.S. has experienced an unprecedented democratic decline driven by executive overreach and weakened checks and civil liberties, the Trump administration’s foreign policy moves in Iran and Cuba, and outline how elections, courts, mass civic action, and economic pressure on business all remain crucial fronts for defending American democracy.
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Fourth Session)
In this fourth episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky draw on new protest data to show how mass, disciplined, locally organized resistance—rooted in social capital, mutual aid, consumer boycotts, and pressure on key institutions like business and media—is escalating across the U.S.
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Third Session)
In this third episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky discuss what makes government actions authoritarian, outlining how democracy is defended through courts, elections, and mass civic mobilization, reviewing 2025’s main signs of backsliding and resistance, and assessing the roles of civil society, business, and party politics—especially Republican fractures—heading into the pivotal 2026 midterms.
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The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky (Second Session)
In this second episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky assess a month of setbacks for the Trump administration—from court defeats and electoral losses to mass “No Kings” protests—arguing that while the U.S. remains a competitive authoritarian regime, growing legal, electoral, and grassroots pushback has opened new possibilities for democratic resistance heading into the 2026 elections.
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The Breakdown: Inaugural Session
In this inaugural episode of The Breakdown, Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky examine democratic backsliding in the United States and around the globe, discussing the roles of institutions, civil society, and mass nonviolent protest—like the recent “No Kings” mobilizations—in resisting and potentially reversing this erosion of democracy.