Venezuela, which once enjoyed periods of democratically elected governments in the latter half of the twentieth century, has descended into autocratic rule, coupled with economic collapse. In his new book, Autocracy Rising, veteran scholar of Latin American politics Javier Corrales explores how and why this happened.

1. Introduction -- 2. Rethinking democratic backsliding -- 3. The worst economic crisis outside of war -- 4. Rising opposition -- 5. Rising autocracy -- 6. Comparisons -- 7. Function fusion -- 8. Conclusion.