Slide of U.S. towards authoritarian rule: Measure of extent questioned
Got a bone to pick with the current state of the Land of the Free? You're not alone. Many scientists are sounding the alarm, labeling the United States as troublingly autocratic under President Donald Trump. But just how far have we fallen from our democratic roots?
The ugly truth unfolds like a trainwreck. From the White House to the courts, the systems that once served as a bulwark of democracy are being twisted, degraded, and broken down. Trump's chisel, carved deep into the bedrock of our political system, has left the U.S. on shaky ground.
Wondering if we've slipped over the edge into full-blown autocracy? It's a close call, according to researchers, but for now, we're skirting the line. Yale University professor, political scientist, and autocracy scholar, Steven Levitsky, has stated bluntly, "We have slid into a form of authoritarianism."
Trump has systematically attacked key pillars of our democratic system, from separation of powers to freedom of speech. Government agencies have been gutted of internal anti-corruption control and active equal opportunity measures. Education, research, and culture have also been targeted. In a nutshell, Trump and his allies have left nothing untouched in their quest for raw, unchecked power.
The State of Democracy: A Critical Survey
How dire is the situation, really? According to a regular survey on the state of the political system in the United States, we've taken a sharp nosedive under Trump. From a strong score of 67 just five years ago, the nation has plummeted to a dismal 49 in these first critical months of the Trump presidency. That's the lowest value since the survey began in 2017, and it's a far cry from our previous lows during Trump's first term and the January 6, 2021, coup attempt.
But there's still hope. On a scale of 0 for a pure dictatorship to 100 for a perfect democracy, the USA still clings to a relatively strong democracy – though the landscape is decidedly different from what it was just a few years ago.
The USA: A Work in Progress
The line between a competitive autocracy and a pure democracy can be blurry. Competitive autocracies retain formal democratic institutions, but incumbents manipulate these structures to hold onto power. This manipulation typically occurs through elections, but the elections themselves are anything but fair. Sound familiar?
If you're still not convinced, consider this. In the survey mentioned earlier, the U.S. is closer to Mexico on the scale of democracy to autocracy, but still farther away than Hungary. That's right; we're edging closer to the likes of Hungary's Victor Orbán and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Targeting the Fourth Estate: The Role of Elon Musk
Let's flashback to February 2017, when history professor Timothy Snyder said, "Of course it’s a coup." Snyder was worried about the role of billionaire Elon Musk and his employees – who gained access to US ministries and sensitive databases – in the new Trump administration. He warned that these tech bros were helping to rewrite the very foundations of our democracy and violate the human rights of ordinary people.
While some of the administration's measures have been stopped or restricted by courts, the damage has been done. And with Trump making threats against political opponents and pushing for blatant power grabs, it's only a matter of time before we slip further into the darkness.
Origins and Consequences: The Evolution of Autocracy
The question now is, where do we go from here? For some, It's a race to the bottom, an irreversible slide towards autocracy. But there's still a chance to turn things around. To do that, we must first understand the factors that led us here – a perversion of the democratic system through limitless corporate and billionaire campaign financing, voter suppression, and the seemingly endless influence of big money in politics.
Only time will tell if we can claw our way back to a functional, equitable democracy. But one thing is certain: America is changing, and not for the better. If we want to preserve the dream of a true democracy, we must act fast and strengthen the very systems and institutions that are currently under threat.
Sources: ntv.de, Princeton University, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Donald Trump
- USA
- Competitive Autocracy
- Elon Musk
- The European Union, with its strong democratic foundation, has expressed concerns about the political shift in the USA, viewing the Trump presidency's policies and actions as a potential threat to the democratic values they shared.
- Reports indicate the USA, under Trump's leadership, has moved closer to a competitive autocracy, where formal democratic institutions exist yet are manipulated to maintain power, akin to the situations in countries like Mexico, Hungary, and Turkey.
- In the realm of crime and justice, the general public's access to communications platforms like Whatsapp has been utilized as a tool for wrongdoing, with evidence suggesting its misuse in war-and-conflicts and political manipulation in the USA.
- In the realm of policy-and-legislation, researchers have pointed to the influence of billionaires like Elon Musk, whose access to sensitive information and government ministries has raised questions about campaign financing, government corruption, and the potential erosion of the democratic system.
- As political discussions and events unfold, journalists and media outlets play a crucial role in maintaining transparency and accountability in the face of attempted manipulation or suppression of the general news, with concerns about autocrats' attempts to undermine the fourth estate and undermine freedom of the press.
