Challenges to democracy

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Anything that threatens democracy's survival (does the system still exist?) or its quality (is it still fair and trusted?) — e.g. economic crisis, extremism, or abuse of power.

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From 1929 it caused mass unemployment and destroyed faith in leaders. Germany's voters turned to extremists (Weimar fell); US voters chose reform via the New Deal (democracy held).

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Germany's democracy from 1919 to 1933, born after WWI. It had a very democratic constitution but was fragile and collapsed in 1933.

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Pure proportional representation split the Reichstag among many small parties, so no party could govern alone. Coalitions formed and collapsed repeatedly.

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A Weimar constitutional power letting the President rule by emergency decree without the Reichstag. From 1930 it became normal government, hollowing out democracy.

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On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. The Enabling Act then let Hitler make laws without parliament, legally ending Weimar democracy.

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The early-1950s Cold War red scare led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who made unproven claims of communist infiltration. It ruined careers until the Senate censured him in 1954.

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President Nixon's team broke into Democratic offices and he covered it up. Congress, the courts and a free press exposed him, and he resigned in 1974.

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State-controlled media becomes propaganda that crushes debate (Nazi Germany). A free press defends democracy by exposing wrongdoing (Watergate).

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West Germany's approach of building constitutional defences to protect democracy from extremism, learning from Weimar's failure.

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A Federal Republic rule: parliament can only remove a chancellor by agreeing on a replacement at the same time — preventing the power vacuums that plagued Weimar.

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The USA had deep, established institutions — independent Congress and courts, a free press — that checked abuses. Weimar was young, distrusted and undermined by Article 48 rule.