Discover more from Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum
We all have a mental image of what it means for a democracy to fail: tanks in the streets, stormtroopers, gunfire. But actually, in the modern world, most democracies fail slowly, one step at a time. The perpetrators aren’t necessarily armed thugs, but elected politicians. There is not necessarily any violence, just a deterioration of faith in the system. My colleague Peter Pomerantsev and I have both spent years living and traveling in the post-Soviet world and in other wobbly democracies on the planet. We’ve both watched what happens when politicians deliberately seek to undermine their country’s institutions, create distrust, distort reality. We see signs of those activities right now, in the United States. Our new, five-part podcast describes them.
This is not a vague threat about something that might happen: This is a description of autocratic behaviors that are already in play, right now, in America. Guests on the first episode include ex-Congressman Adam Kinzinger, as well as Stephen Richer, an election official in Maricopa county, Arizona.
One episode will drop every week for the next five weeks. You can listen here:
Look forward to hearing what subscribers think!
I listened to 'Autocracy in America'. The lens used to expose autocratic symptoms thriving and spreading at state and local levels astonish me. Linking equivalents to Europe's experiences is a perfect narrative because western society views Europe as the 'other' people with 'other' problems. The examples you give to show tactics used to take power away from people is frightening. I remember when Mr. Obama was elected and narratives appeared on Twitter denigrating Michelle and the president. No one slapped back. The slurs were like a sexual assault. The damage done and the victim can't seem to see the possibility of justice. Time freezes to the assault. That's how I see America. Trump isn't the only assailant. He has many, many in his league, and America must learn how to end the victim stage.
This was an excellent
podcast. It clearly points out
how we can be influenced to
slip into autocracy. I
commend the commentators
for their stands against being
pulled into this alternative to
democracy, knowing the
personal costs would be high.