Twilight of Democracy

Applebaum's book is a bit of a hot mess. Her underlying thesis mirrors that of The Narrow Corridor by Acemoglu and Robinson, but her approach is highly personalized and observational to the point that it feels at times to be just a venting of her internal monologue without a truly cogent structure. Much of the book is focused on a few public intellectuals she has known personally that have shifted from the center right to right wing nationalism. It's entertaining in a DC/Brussels parlour game type of way, but all feels a little too insular...

Applebaum is also a little too self referential to be taken seriously. In her point of view, she and her fellow travellers are the enlightened public thinkers, while others are cynical opportunists. The notion that the very nature of elite centrism that controlled the halls of power for generations might have its own problems, blindspots, and failures seems lost on her. Nevertheless, she makes some interesting arguments about how democratic institutions and norms can be subverted from within, with some interesting examples from central Europe.

Overall, an interesting thesis, but there many books that cover this issue more competently.