Kategorie: Lesezeichen

Beitragsfoto: Lesezeichen | © kertlis von Getty Images

Steven Levitsky und Lucan A. Way| Foreign Affairs Magazine

The Path to American Authoritarianism — What Comes After Democratic Breakdownt (zuletzt aufgerufen am 14.2.2025, 10.38 Uhr)

„The country’s vaunted constitutional checks are failing. Trump violated the cardinal rule of democracy when he attempted to overturn the results of an election and block a peaceful transfer of power. Yet neither Congress nor the judiciary held him accountable, and the Republican Party — coup attempt notwithstanding — renominated him for president. Trump ran an openly authoritarian campaign in 2024, pledging to prosecute his rivals, punish critical media, and deploy the army to repress protest. He won, and thanks to an extraordinary Supreme Court decision, he will enjoy broad presidential immunity during his second term. …

America is on the cusp of competitive authoritarianism. The Trump administration has already begun to weaponize state institutions and deploy them against opponents. The Constitution alone cannot save U.S. democracy. Even the best-designed constitutions have ambiguities and gaps that can be exploited for antidemocratic ends. After all, the same constitutional order that undergirds America’s contemporary liberal democracy permitted nearly a century of authoritarianism in the Jim Crow South, the mass internment of Japanese Americans, and McCarthyism. In 2025, the United States is governed nationally by a party with greater will and power to exploit constitutional and legal ambiguities for authoritarian ends than at any time in the past two centuries. …

But the opposition can win only if it stays in the game. Opposition under competitive authoritarianism can be grueling. Worn down by harassment and threats, many of Trump’s critics will be tempted to retreat to the sidelines. Such a retreat would be perilous. When fear, exhaustion, or resignation crowds out citizens’ commitment to democracy, emergent authoritarianism begins to take root.“

Lesenswert! Und die Hoffnung stirbt bekanntlich wie immer zuletzt.

Und wer jetzt wieder mit dem Finger auf die US-Amerikaner zeigt, der sollte nur einmal die aktuellen Westentaschendiktatoren zählen, die alleine in der EU jetzt schon das Sagen haben.

[https://iiics.org/h/20250214093100]