US Slipping Towards Autocracy: How Deep? A Look at the Slippery Slope
Sliding Toward Autocratic Rule: Assessing the Degree of U.S. Political Transformation
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The first few months under President Trump have raised alarm bells for many scholars. The health of American democracy – once a beacon for the world – is now worrying. Some argue that the United States has already entered an autocratic phase. But can the nation reverse this trend?
The current atmosphere offers one consensus: The US is no longer the symbol of democracy, freedom, and human rights it once was. Instead, it finds itself under an administration that consistently weakens its democratic foundations. With Trump's executive orders, public attacks, and attempts to impose personal convictions over political objectives, the government jeopardizes its own political system.
The question at hand: Is the United States already an autocracy? A majority of researchers agree: The US is creeping towards autocracy. This can be evaluated based on specific criteria and categories. Keeping up with the U.S. government's activities can be challenging, but the initial turmoil has begun to subside, and key trends are becoming clearer.
Sabotaging the Democratic System
Trump has left his mark on various pillars of the democratic system: Separation of powers, accountability, freedom of speech and press, and education. For details on individual areas, see here.
In the agencies, governmental anti-corruption controls have been scrapped, and equal opportunity measures, supposedly due to alleged white racism, have been canceled. Similar efforts are being made in schools and universities. For Trump and his allies, there seems to be only one definitive boundary: the decisions of the Supreme Court, which is already biased toward conservatives. Apart from that, the President asserts maximum power in the executive.
Survey Says...
A regular survey on the political system's state in the US reveals significant concern among the public and more than 700 scientists. On a scale of 0-100, representing a perfect democracy and a pure dictatorship, the country's score has dropped from 67 to 49 during Trump's first 100 days, the lowest ranking since the survey began in 2017. The researchers use 30 indicators for their analysis, such as government interference in affairs of the press, political opponent punishment, and the power of Congress and the judiciary to limit government power. Based on this analysis, the US is closer to a dictatorship than its neighbor Mexico but still further from Hungary.
The territory between a dictatorship and a perfect democracy is vast and populated with many shades. Many governments belong to a competitive autocracy, where elections are held, and democratic institutions continue to exist, but rulers exploit them to maintain power. Examples include Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela.
And the US? "We have slipped into a form of authoritarianism," political scientist Steven Levitsky recently surmised. He, along with others, first coined the term competitive autocracy over 20 years ago.
What's a Coup? Just Ask Musk
As early as February 2017, historian Timothy Snyder expressed his view: "Of course it's a coup." In his analysis, he discussed the role of billionaire Elon Musk and his coterie, christened the "Ministry of Government Efficiency," who gained access to U.S. ministries and sensitive databases under Trump. Snyder remarked that power in the 21st century is digital, making Musk's actions a coup, as he was neither elected nor granted legal authority for his actions.
Some of the new administration's measures have been blocked, restricted, or challenged in court. Musk has since stepped back from his governmental role. However, the changes already made will likely endure during Trump's presidency. It's as if conservative elites invited tech bros to refresh the system and install updates. Who knows what secret data might have been exposed during the process?
Moving Forward
Resistance is primarily coming from the courts, with the President deliberately targeting individual judges, exerting immense pressure on them. Some decrees have been stopped, abandoned, or are under review in various courts. Legal defense can be costly in the U.S., where defendants aren't only liable for court fees if they lose.
Trump has mainly issued executive orders or implemented them through ministries and agencies. Many of these orders could be reversed by future governments without additional majorities. Trump has signed only a handful of laws in his first term due to the Republicans' lacking majorities in Congress. Committee commonly referred to as a legislative graveyard.
The Road Ahead
Is the situation really so dire? Perhaps. Trump is overtly trying to intimidate his political adversaries and alter the political system to make it easier for him and future Republicans to win elections and maintain power. The editors of the "New York Times" recently claimed this.
License to Embrace Power
The question extends beyond assessing the autocracy and covers its longevity. Factors such as permissive corporate and billionaire campaign financing have facilitated Trump's power and corruption. This has shifted the boundaries, as evident in Trump's close brush with impeachment during his first term.
Charting the Future
Trump's administration might become stuck in the political and legal quagmire it has created in the coming months and years. Yet, future heads of state could follow his example, yielding similar or even greater power abuses. The direction the USA will take, whether it will remain close to autocracy or stray further, may depend on future heads of state's intentions. Will they champion the separation of powers, freedom of the press, education, and equal rights for all – or not?
Source: ntv.de
- Donald Trump
- USA
Enrichment Data:The concept of "competitive autocracy" or "competitive authoritarianism" broadly refers to regimes where elections are held, but the ruling party systematically exploits power to favor the ruling party over the opposition. This can involve undermining the independence of government institutions, media outlets, and judiciary and replacing officials with loyalists[2][3].
Some analysts argue that the United States is moving towards a form of competitive authoritarianism, especially under the presidency of Donald Trump[2][4]. This perspective highlights actions such as executive orders, the political use of the Department of Justice, and the influence of figures like Elon Musk on the administration[2][4]. However, the U.S. Constitution still frames the political system, and opposition is legal, even if more challenging[2]. Comparisons to other countries suggest that the U.S. is not yet fully aligned with the most entrenched competitive autocracies but is instead drifting towards a hybrid regime that retains democratic elements while compromising their effectiveness[2][3].
- The European Union could potentially enable policies that address the war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, and crime-and-justice implications stemming from the US sliding towards a competitive autocracy.
- In light of the US creeping towards autocracy, scholars might examine the role of social media in politics, such as WhatsApp, as a tool for information dissemination and possible manipulation.
- As the US continues to move closer to a competitive autocracy, policy-and-legislation aimed at strengthening governmental anti-corruption controls and equal opportunity measures might be proposed by the European Union.
- The physical threat of war-and-conflicts, that the US's autocratic tendencies pose to adjacent nations, could become a topic of concern during discussions within the European Union.
- The decline in the US's democracy score, as a result of its drift towards competitive autocracy, could prompt tough rhetoric and potential policy changes in relation to the US from the European Union, thereby impacting diplomatic relations.
