Rory Truex

In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists when unprovoked — what would we call it?

If federal agents marched down streets demanding papers — what would we say?

Authoritarianism — let’s not pretend it’s something else when it happens in our American cities.

A US Congressional Delegation Just Visited China. More Should Follow. A lack of exchanges puts blinkers on the United States’ China policy.

Sharing this thoughtful post from Ned Downie in The Diplomat on the importance of high-level diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and China. thediplomat.com/2025/09/a-us...

The State of American Democracy with Steven Levitsky, Adam Przeworski, Susan Stokes and Daniel Ziblatt | The Civic Forum E10 Spotify video

Here's 90 minutes with @adamprz.bsky.social,
Sue Stokes, Steven Levitsky, and
@dziblatt.bsky.social on the state of American democracy right now. It was a great honor for me to be able to convene this set of people to speak together at this moment. Please share! open.spotify.com/episode/0F8W...

Indiana’s governor offers an eye-popping warning on gerrymandering Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he’s concerned that his state could face political ramifications — potentially, a loss of federal benefits — unless it forces through a mid-decade redraw of its congressio...

Nothing to worry about, just a GOP governor saying his state has to redistrict to favor Rs before 2026 or lose money to his state www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Authoritarians frequently exploit state power to make it impossible for opposition parties to compete on a level playing field

Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

This is the playbook, folks.

If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.

Do not be quiet in this moment.

This Thursday at noon EST I'll be joined by @adamprz.bsky.social, Sue Stokes, Steve Levitsky (stevelevitsky.bsky.social), and @dziblatt.bsky.social on a webinar to talk about the state of American democracy. Please come! Registration here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum.... Please share.

As scary as this moment is, remember that support for political violence went DOWN after the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump, not up www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

We need to make the same thing happen this time.

The ad campaign criticizing the use of masks by federal agents working in Washington, D.C. has expanded to 115 bus stops, per organizers

Tomorrow I'll be joined by @brendannyhan.bsky.social and @johncarey.bsky.social on The Civic Forum to talk about their important work at Bright Line Watch. We'll be talking about the erosion of American democracy can register for the event here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Join me tomorrow live on Crowdcast for a session with @chenoweth.bsky.social. We'll be speaking about effective opposition and where the pro-democracy movement needs to go from here. Registration link here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Come see @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social live with me tomorrow! We're going to talk about Strongmen rule and how to oppose authoritarian government. www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

What is authoritarian backscratching – and why is this a threat? Quid pro quo policies help authoritarian regimes stay in power.

Just published in @goodauth.bsky.social: my piece on what I call “authoritarian backscratching” - quid-pro-quo policies between dictators - and how it helps authoritarian regimes survive. goodauthority.org/news/what-is...

Please join me tomorrow at noon for a conversation on all things Putin, Russia, and Trump with the wonderful Mark Beissinger. Sign-up link here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

For more information on the The Civic Forum, please visit our website: www.thecivicforum.com

Please join me this Thursday at noon EST for our second session of The Civic Forum. We'll have a discussion with
@keeanga.bsky.social on race, Black History, and the MAGA movement. Registration link here:

The first session of The Civic Forum is today at noon EST! Link is here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum.... Come for a short lecture on democratic erosion in the U.S. Full series info here: www.thecivicforum.com

I encourage everyone to read this letter.

Please then realize the president is imposing a tax on American consumers to leverage a foreign nation into making a domestic political decision that will help one of his political allies.

Florida officials deny accusations of inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz Detainees claim they are enduring inhumane conditions, including lack of access to water, inadequate food and denial of religious rights.

Thinking more and more about the unfolding human rights abuses in this country. When you dehumanize a group of people enough, you can do pretty much anything you want to them. And no one seems to care. www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/a...

Democratic Backsliding: A Summer Reading List A Little Bit of Political Science, But Not Too Much

A summer reading list on democratic backsliding via @rorytruex.bsky.social: rorytruex.substack.com/p/democratic...

Also check out The Civic Forum (www.thecivicforum.com), "to study democracy and authoritarianism, to think about the meaning of citizenship, and to face the political moment."

There is Nothing Patriotic About MAGA Reclaiming Patriotism from the Authoritarian Right

There is nothing patriotic about Trump and his faction of the Republican Party. They wrap themselves in the American flag, and then proceed to do the most un-American things imaginable. More here:

This is how you normalize authoritarianism.

Would be funny if it wasn't so terrifying

Are We There Yet? Making Sense of the Authoritarian Onslaught

Full post here: rorytruex.substack.com/p/are-we-the...

This week I took a stab at categorizing the different authoritarian moves of the Trump administration. See the figure below.

So dangerous to create a personalist regime where no coherent policy is ever made and anyone who contradicts the leader is forced out. The governance of modern societies depends on planning and information flow.

ART OF THE FOLD........

Levitsky, Way, and Ziblatt: "No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines"
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o... (gift link)

Key points:
1. We are now living under competitive authoritarianism.
2. We need ALL of civil society to resist the temptation of appeasement and defend democracy.

A victory for democracy

🚨New Bright Line Watch report on the state of US democracy

-Democracy ratings ↓ w/experts & public, including Rs
-Performance ↓ in numerous areas such as free speech/press, abuse of government powers
-Faculty report academic freedom decline & self-censorship

brightlinewatch.org/threats-to-d...

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