Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, speaking on the YouTube channel Alileo Books on the 9th. [Photo by YouTube Alileo Books video capture]
[Asia Economy Reporter Sumi Hwang] Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, said that after reading the book How Democracies Die, he came to understand why the opposition party criticizes the current government.
On the 9th, the YouTube channel 'Alileo Books' posted a video titled "There Is No Right Answer in Politics / How Democracies Die." Chairman Yoo appeared in the video and introduced the book, stating this. He explained, "The opposition party is currently calling the Korean government 'dictatorship' and a 'democratic crisis,' and I somewhat understood what values and criteria they are using to say this," adding, "Reading this book is very helpful to understand 'in what context they are speaking.'
The book, co-authored by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, political science professors at Harvard University, was published in the United States in January 2018 and translated and introduced domestically in October of the same year. The two authoritative democracy scholars vividly show through various global cases under what conditions extremist populists, who are highly likely to become dictators, are elected, and how elected dictators legally destroy democracy.
In this book, the authors argue that traditional democracy can easily collapse after the election of former U.S. President Donald Trump. They also warn that a power elected through voting can become a dictator and explain cases where democracy collapses within the framework of the law.
Meanwhile, the video featuring Chairman Yoo recorded about 115,000 views and approximately 92,000 'likes' as of 9 p.m. on the 10th.
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