Why democracies die — and what business leaders must do

Harvard’s Daniel Ziblatt explores how democracies fail and why business leaders must act now before it’s too late.

“Democracy is a system of competition: not harmony, but contest… When that competition is fair, something extraordinary happens.”

In this gripping keynote and fireside conversation with IMD President David Bach, Harvard professor and political scientist Daniel Ziblatt reframes democracy as a circuit breaker against power hoarding — and business leaders as essential players in defending it.

Recorded live at IMD’s annual flagship event OWP, Ziblatt warns that “most democracies die at the hands of elected leaders… who use the very institutions of democracy to subvert it.”

For Ziblatt, democracy is not idealistic fluff — it’s a vital check on catastrophic failure. “Without democracy, political leaders are much more likely to make major blunders.”

Ziblatt, author of How Democracies Die, delivers a direct challenge to those in the room, and to everyone listening: “The future of democracy is in the hands of people like you – people in positions of leadership in society – to draw the red lines, to remind fellow citizens of this, and to stand up for democracy.”