While societal decline can be a long, slow process, it can unravel rapidly. The tipping point is when the outside world loses confidence in a nation's core institutions, such as its legal system or central bank. This triggers a sudden flight of capital, talent, and investment, drastically accelerating the collapse.

A political system is in jeopardy when its citizens and leaders prioritize their ideological causes above the system's rules and stability. This creates irreconcilable differences, making compromise impossible and leading to internal conflict and eventual breakdown, a pattern observed repeatedly throughout history.

Author Robert Kaplan uses the Weimar Republic not to predict another Hitler, but as an analogy for a world in permanent crisis. Technology has shrunk the globe, creating a claustrophobic, anxious environment where no single power is in control, leading to constant paralysis rather than a clear authoritarian outcome.

Hitler's Austrian nationality was less of a hurdle than it seems today. In the 1920s, a strong political movement in post-empire Austria advocated for unification with Germany. This widespread sentiment made Hitler's claim to a 'greater German' identity plausible and relatable to many Germans and Austrians.

The contemporary threat to democracy isn't a violent overthrow. It's a gradual erosion of neutral institutions like courts, media, and electoral commissions by leaders who were democratically elected, a model pioneered by Hungary's Viktor Orbán.

Contrary to the belief that war worsens inequality, the expert argues severe inequality is a primary cause of war. It fosters desperation, leading populations to elect demagogues who promise salvation but often resort to conflict, as seen with the rise of Hitler during Germany's deflationary depression.

Historian Anne Applebaum observes that significant US constitutional amendments often follow profound national traumas like the Revolution or the Civil War. This suggests that without a similar large-scale crisis, mustering the collective will to address deep-seated issues like systemic corruption is historically difficult, as there is no single moment of reckoning.

Figures like Donald Trump don't create populist movements; they rise by capitalizing on pre-existing societal problems like economic despair. Focusing on removing the leader ignores the root causes that allowed them to gain power, ensuring another similar figure will eventually emerge.

Economic uncertainty and anxiety are the root causes of political violence. When governments devalue currency through inflation and amass huge debts, they create the stressful conditions that history shows consistently lead to civil unrest.