Thomas E. Strunk is Associate Professor of Classics at Xavier University. He is the author of History after Liberty: Tacitus on Tyrants, Sycophants, and Republicans.

Acknowledgments; Key Dates from Roman History; To the Reader; Introduction: Why Rome?; 1 Anacyclosis: No Regime Is Exceptional and Democracy Is Not Inevitable; 2 Mighty Republics Can Fall Because of Slow Corruption Rather Than Dramatic Revolutions; 3 A Revered Tradition of Liberty Can Be Exploited by Authoritarians; 4 Economic Inequality Drives Civil Strife; 5 Political Violence Can Become Normalized; 6 Strongmen Do Not Save Republics; 7 The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Need to Be Shared and Extended; 8 Civic Virtue Is as Important as the Constitution and Laws; 9 A Reckoning with the Oppressed Cannot Be Denied; 10 Elections Only Work When Everyone Is Willing to Lose; 11 Disregard for The Civil Liberties of Some Erodes the Legal Rights of All Citizens; 12 Military Misadventures Abroad Lead to Instability at Home; 13 Organized, Armed Gangs Tear Apart a Political System; 14 Institutions May Not Be Able to Save the Republic; 15 A Tyrant Backed into a Corner Is a Danger to the Republic; 16 The Real Problem Is Not Simply a Tyrannical Leader; 17 Free Speech Can Disappear; 18 The Crisis Can Be Manufactured to Continue; 19 The Revolution Can Be Advertised as a Restoration; 20 Freedom Lost Cannot So Easily Be Regained; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliographic Note; Index.