The Road to Unfreedom
Timothy Snyder
5 mins
3 key insights
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This comprehensive account of historical and contemporary trends chronicles the infiltration of authoritarianism from Russia into American politics.


The Road to Unfreedom

The Road to Unfreedom
by Timothy Snyder
Overview
From the rise of the smartphone and social media to the Brexit referendum and the Trump election, the 2010s were marked by a rise in both connectivity and instability. Now, in a new decade, the events of the recent past still lay claim to the present.
Timothy D. Snyder is a historian at Yale University specializing in 20th century Central and Eastern Europe. He's authored acclaimed books like Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin and On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.
In his latest book, Snyder offers a sharp analysis of how the geopolitics of the past ten years have irrevocably altered and threatened western democratic norms. The Road to Unfreedom draws on meticulous historical analysis and reporting to reveal how corrupt political factions in Russia, Europe, and America erode contemporary civic norms, ultimately depriving society of a shared sense of truth.
Favorite quote

By suggesting that political foundations cannot really change, the politics of inevitability spread uncertainty as to what those foundations really are. If we think the future is an automatic extension of good political order we need not ask what that order is.
- Timothy Snyder

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