UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The McCourtney Institute for Democracy invites the Penn State community to join a virtual book club discussing books that examine what it means to live in a democracy.

The first selection will be “How Democracies Die” by Harvard political scientists Steven Levisky and Daniel Ziblatt. The New York Times bestseller examines the path by which democratic governments can descend into authoritarianism.

Discussions will be held 7 p.m. on May 20 and noon on May 21, in Zoom. Additional sessions may be added based on demand.

As with any book club, reading the entire book is not required to participate in the discussion. Ziblatt visited University Park in 2018; a recording of his lecture on the book is available on the McCourtney Institute’s YouTube channel. He also appeared on the Institute’s Democracy Works podcast.

For more information about the book club and to RSVP for a discussion, visit democracy.psu.edu/book. Please RSVP by May 15.