International law presumes some common bonds of belief and empathy among all persons. At the level of individual states, which do more for (and to) their citizens than the present international order, even more is required to maintain social harmony and cohesion. A common understanding of a thicker set of constitutional and social commitments is necessary. But what happens when that common understanding breaks down? For example, what if leaders of one party (and their followers) start to consider other parties illegitimate – inherently disqualified from power? Are there certain “tipping points,” or points of no return, when a pluralistic order passes an event horizon toward a black hole of authoritarianism – an unrecoverable decline and collapse of democracy?