On Freedom

On Freedom emerges in a decade marked by democratic backsliding, authoritarian populism, and global crises. Across the 2010s and 2020s, watchdog groups like Freedom House and the Economist Intelligence Unit documented steady declines in democratic indicators worldwide. Rising inequality, weakened trust in institutions, and the dominance of digital platforms reshaped public life, creating the conditions Snyder critiques.

In the United States, political polarization sharpened after the 2016 election. After losing his bid for re-election, President Donald Trump made false and vague claims that the election was rigged and that he had in fact won. At the urging of the president, thousands of rioters descended on the US capitol, defacing public property and injuring law enforcement personnel in an attempt to stop the certification of the election. In the aftermath of these events, Republican leaders and operatives repeated Trump’s false claims, creating what has been termed the “big lie”—a false narrative so grand in scale and so frequently repeated that it takes on the appearance of truth, a propaganda strategy seen in earlier authoritarian regimes. At the same time, movements such as Black Lives Matter highlighted the unfinished project of racial justice, underscoring Snyder’s claim that freedom is indivisible.

Internationally, Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine—an event Snyder analyzed in real time for Western audiences—offers a dramatic case study for his argument. Ukrainian solidarity, civic courage, and defense of institutions embody the very practices of freedom he describes. Against the backdrop of authoritarianism in the US and Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, Snyder discusses the expansion of positive freedom that occurred as the European Union formed in the 1990s. Rapid expansion of infrastructure allowed EU citizens to travel freely across newly open borders, universal health care meant that people could afford to pursue the lives they wanted without fear of medical debt. In Snyder’s view, the EU is a success story illustrating how investment in mobility and solidarity can lengthen life expectancy and strengthen democracy.

By situating On Freedom within these historical currents, Snyder underscores that liberty is fragile, contested, and always at risk of erosion. His work speaks not only to abstract philosophy but also to real-world struggles—from authoritarian aggression abroad to democratic dysfunction at home—insisting that freedom must be continually renewed through collective action.