For anyone interested in democracy, this book's perspective on the topic is unique and compelling. While many experts on constitutional democracy have focused on how democracies die, Livni's emphasis is on how democracies survive and thrive. In doing so, he uses examples drawn from the natural world and technology to study resilience as it applies to socio-political systems. He makes compelling arguments that nature, technology, and socio-political systems all follow the same basic laws. The result is a series of multidiscipline investigations into equilibrium and stability generally, and democratic societies in particular. Livni simplifies complex scientific concepts and offers a fresh perspective on an important, current topic. For anyone interested in “how democracies die” and “how democracies survive,” this is a must-read!

Peter Mazzacano, Algoma University

Combining history, anthropology, epistemology, population biology, sociology, and political science with mathematics, engineering, and physics, Joseph Livni creates a provocative and interdisciplinary approach to the most important question of our times: “What leads to the dissolution of democratic societies?”

Steve Gimbel, Gettysburg College