Scott Alexander reviews a book on Erdogan's rise to power in Turkey, analyzing the factors that led to democratic backsliding and considering lessons for other democracies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews the book 'The New Sultan: Erdogan And The Crisis Of Modern Turkey', which details Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rise to power and Turkey's shift from a flawed democracy to a partial dictatorship. The review explores Turkey's unique historical context, Erdogan's political journey, and the strategies he used to consolidate power, drawing parallels and contrasts with other countries' experiences of democratic backsliding. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Ezra Klein's 'Why We're Polarized', finding it asks important questions about political polarization but provides few clear answers. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Ezra Klein's book 'Why We're Polarized', which examines the historical and structural reasons for increasing political polarization in the United States. The book argues that the realignment of the Dixiecrats from Democrat to Republican in the 1960s allowed natural polarization to occur. Klein discusses factors like identity alignment, nationalization of politics, and negative partisanship as drivers of polarization. Scott finds some of Klein's arguments unconvincing, particularly regarding Republicans, and wishes for more international comparisons. He concludes that while the book asks important questions about polarization as a key political problem, it doesn't provide many clear answers. Shorter summary