--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's no checklist of how democracies…" description: "\"There's no checklist of how democracies fail because they fail in different ways. Some of them fail because they break up and civil war breaks out... O..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52c/anne-applebaum-2544_civil-war_there-s-no-checklist-of-how-democracies_3042228.png" --- # There's no checklist of how democracies fail because they… ![“There's no checklist of how democracies fail because they fail in different ways. Some of them fail because they break up and civil war breaks out... Often they fail because someone is elected to power who doesn't respect the rules of the democracy.” quote by Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52c/anne-applebaum-2544_civil-war_there-s-no-checklist-of-how-democracies_3042228.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52c/anne-applebaum-2544_civil-war_there-s-no-checklist-of-how-democracies_3042228.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52c/anne-applebaum-2544_civil-war_there-s-no-checklist-of-how-democracies_3042228.png) > “There's no checklist of how democracies fail because they fail in different ways. Some of them fail because they break up and civil war breaks out... Often they fail because someone is elected to power who doesn't respect the rules of the democracy.” [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracies fail in varied ways, often due to internal conflict or leaders who ignore democratic norms. **In simple terms:** Democracies collapse through war or undemocratic leaders. Key Takeaway Guard democratic institutions. Themes democracy failure leadership conflict Mood concerned analytical Type informative thought‑provoking When to use this quote - elections - policy making - civil society Key Concepts rule of law civil war authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect democracy? - How can citizens hold leaders accountable? A Different Perspective Not all failures are predictable; external shocks also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Checklist Democracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checklist-democracies-5020329/) [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Democracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies/) [Democracies Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies-fail-5020327/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Different ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) [Fail Elected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-elected-5020328/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules/) [Rules Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-democracy-1940448/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [We have to move back to the idea that education isn't about teaching people to bow to rigid rules. 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