#Trump #Authoritarianism #Fascism

You can read more about the nature of democratic backsliding here (behind a paywall, but academics might have access):
muse.jhu.edu/article/607612

An interesting article:
www.vox.com/2017/10/13/1...

Another article tying division and the erosion of democracy
www.cambridge.org/core/journal....

The first and the third assumptions are quite clearly not true, and I hope the second assumption is true. My fourth and final post about Trump's authoritarianism will discuss assumption 3.

(1) that we "still have time" to prevent a return to power, (2) that the current Democratic processes can be used to stall or halt the transition away from democracy, and (3) that everyone involved is a reasonable and rational actor.

But we can all agree it's too late for that right now...

In fact, the current and past two posts I've made on this subject have assumed a couple of things:

I'm taking a bit of liberty with my commentary from that article, as they aren't as explicit about protesting and communicating with representatives as a primary method of dealing with "executives" who try to take over democracies - the authors indicate that we should vote them out.

Exercise legal avenues of control, vote autocrats out of office, protest, and communicate with your representatives that the policies that matter most to you support the democratic process.

That isn't to say Harris was a strong proponent of extreme distribution by any stretch of the imagination, but she was definitely for a fairer version of capitalism.

What can ordinary people do, according to the most recently cited article?

So when there is fear of redistribution of wealth (by whatever mechanism), the wealthy tend to be opposed to any candidate or policy that promotes that redistribution of wealth - even if those candidates are the only ones who support democratic values. (www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/pol...).

Things look more complicated while looking at data. It's not just polarization of partisan beliefs but also what stakes individuals or groups have in the expected economic changes each party offers. Duh, right?

Democratic Backsliding: How it Happens and Why - Democracy Paradox A brief review of Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World by Stephan Haggard and Robert Kauffman.

"A polarized electorate places greater importance on ideological positions from candidates rather than their commitment to the democratic process." - democracyparadox.com/2021/12/06/d...

When reading Dr. Snyder's work for a previous post, I recall right-wing Christian nationalists being singled out for this issue.

if a group has core values that they see as "fringe" or completely opposing the values of others in a society, then it is more likely that that group may begin to value democracy *less* in favor of their specific "fringe" values.

Still, officials must be *allowed* to degrade democracies, and autocrats require a fractured populous with at least some willing civilians.

Polarization is a key factor in encouraging subsets in any society to value democracy less.

Trump is particularly interested in doing this to the US Government. Remember when he went out of his way to damage the USPS's effectiveness? Notice how he's firing independent inspector generals?

While the methods vary, they all come down to using democratic processes to make the government less democratic. (academic.oup.com/ppmg/article...) If you've been paying attention to politics, then you realize that conservatives generally prefer the "sabotage" route.

Executive takeovers (such as what we will likely see Trump attempt) are far more common sources of democratic degradation than Military Coups. (www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/pol...).

This post is inspired by the last, diving deeper into what people talk about when they talk about Democratic Backsliding.

So America Elected an Authoritarian
...Again

This post is Part 3 of a series where I go over what various experts in dictatorships or authoritarianism have said about Donald J. Trump and some suggestions on how we are going to have to deal with his bullshit going forward.

The world is what we make of it: model those behaviors you'd like to see in others and work towards a trustworthy and effective government.

Maintain checks and balances by responding with your protests, calling your representatives, and taking civil actions.

Be vigilant and strict against authoritarian actions - do not let Trump and his cronies weasel their way into having more power than they should; emergencies, or perceived emergencies, are an excellent tool for authoritarians to force themselves into stronger positions in government.

Advocate ending Citizen's United, which allows businesses and other organizations to spend exorbitant amounts of money on political campaigns.

Just because we might disagree with how a democratic society should behave doesn't mean that we do not both value democracy as a governmental system.

So what can we do as citizens?

Don't be afraid to work with strange bedfellows. If someone you usually disagree with wants to improve things, don't let their goodwill go unheeded.

For many people, the government and the US legal systems are viewed with suspicion - they don't exist for our benefit, so why should we trust that it has our best interests?

And those people are *correct* to feel that way. Our government has slowly stopped serving its people since Citizen's United.

Civilians are less interested in non-violent resistance or demonstrations. Luigi demonstrated a violent and retributive form of justice when he executed Brian Thompson, and the mixed response illustrates just how ready many people are to turn away from legal or "social" due process.

Elon Musk has openly threatened incumbent Republicans who support the bipartisan budget plan, showing everyone his Oligarchical colors and how there will be different factors this time for all politicians who want to defy Trump (they may have Musk to contend with).

There are fewer consequences for individuals or groups who openly corrupt or attack the government.

My Take: Justice is no longer served to those with authoritarian bents; the FBI is no longer pursuing prosecution of Trump for his mishandling of classified documents. We can also be confident that everyone who participated in the January 6th insurrection will be pardoned.