When we believe that nothing new can happen, that nothing we do will change what comes next, we become vulnerable to those who promise clarity, order, and safety.
Once freedom is lost, what remains isn't order—it’s imposed certainty. Oligarchs reject policy that might lead to a better future. Instead, they peddle nostalgia and the fantasy of an eternally innocent nation victimized by constant threat from outside forces.
To sustain this fantasy, history and fact must be destroyed. Big, boldfaced, grotesque lies maul logic, misrepresent the present, and demand belief in a conspiracy. With truth dismissed, only cynicism and spectacle remain.
Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. When we lose track of the difference between "it is true" and "it feels right," we are not free.
Articles & Essays
Substack, October 2024
Professor Snyder explores how economic collapse and inequality fuel authoritarianism. When institutions fail and elections lose meaning, poverty becomes a tool of control, but truth-telling can persist even under conditions of deprivation.
Boston Globe, November 2020
Following the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Professor Snyder warns that sustained disinformation about election fraud undermines democratic institutions and public trust. He draws historical parallels to fascist mythmaking and explains how the “Big Lie” can become a permanent feature of politics.
New York Times, May 2022
Professor Snyder demonstrates that Russia’s current political system meets core criteria of fascism—cult of personality, mythic nationalism, and war of destruction—and urges direct recognition of this reality to counter authoritarianism worldwide.
Substack, January 2023
Professor Snyder reflects on how honest historical debate—especially about civil rights—is essential to democratic empathy. He warns against top-down control of public truth and advocates for pluralistic memory as civic responsibility.
New York Times, January 2021
Following the January 6 Capitol insurrection, Professor Snyder connects the event to the breakdown of factual discourse, and warns that abandoning truth enables authoritarian myths and populist violence.
Videos
Professor Snyder explains how digital media erodes democratic consensus and enables authoritarian narratives. He advocates for restoring factuality through civic responsibility and support for local journalism.
(April 2023 - 10 mins)
Professor Snyder examines how digital platforms, disinformation, and algorithmic manipulation contribute to a new form of authoritarian influence that he terms “cyberfascism.” He highlights how online environments mimic fascist rhetorical strategies by overwhelming reason with emotion and distorting public discourse.
(May 2023 - 19 mins)
In this analysis of Russian cyber influence in the 2016 U.S. election, Professor Snyder argues that foreign interference succeeded by exploiting American weaknesses in media, institutions, and civic trust. He highlights how internal vulnerabilities amplified external threats.
(May 2023 - 14 mins)
Professor Snyder defines oligarchy as rule by a wealthy elite that undermines democratic institutions. In this vain, he explores how crises and historical myths are used to justify concentrated power, connecting American and Russian political structures through this lens.
(May 2023 - 16 mins)
Professor Snyder explores how domestic failures—media distortion, civic disengagement, and inequality—enabled foreign cyber influence in 2016, arguing that America’s own weaknesses made it vulnerable to manipulation. He highlights how the Russian attack succeeded by exploiting systemic flaws in democracy and public discourse.
(May 2023 - 23 mins)
Speaking to the Harvard Kennedy School, Professor Snyder examines how the instinct to divide society into “us” and “them” can be weaponized by authoritarian regimes, connecting psychological patterns to historical tyranny and digital manipulation. He emphasizes how emotional politics and online echo chambers intensify these divisions.
(April 2018 - 43 mins)
Books
Post-Cold War confidence in the end of history was woefully misplaced. Authoritarianism returned to Russia, and its drive to dissolve Western institutions, states, and values found resonance within the West itself. This book details how nationalist mythmaking, ideological manipulation, and digital disinformation weaken democratic institutions, and explores the collapse of truth and the politics of inevitability.
(Published 2018)
On December 29, 2019, Timothy Snyder fell gravely ill. Over the next few days, as he clung to life, he found himself reflecting on the fragility of health, not recognized in America as a human right but without which all rights and freedoms have no meaning. What followed was an impassioned condemnation of America's pandemic response and an urgent call to rethink health and freedom.
(Published 2020)