Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa used this approach. His multimillion-dollar defamation suits and jailing of journalists on charges of defamation had a powerfully chilling effect on the media.
Each individual step seems minor—none appears to truly threaten democracy. Indeed, government moves to subvert democracy frequently enjoy a veneer of legality: They are approved by parliament or ruled...
The easiest way to deal with potential opponents is to buy them off.
The police can crack down on opposition protest while tolerating acts of violence by progovernment thugs
Yet Ford was also a widely admired, even beloved, figure in the United States, especially in the Midwest. A poor farm boy who made good, the plainspoken businessman was revered by many rural Americans...
Senator Joseph McCarthy, who used the Cold War fear of communist subversion to promote blacklisting, censorship, and book banning, enjoyed wide backing among the American public. At
That brings us to a final factor shaping President Trump’s ability to damage our democracy: crisis. Major security crises—wars or large-scale terrorist attacks—are political game changers. Almost inva...
I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks. It’s true….I’d like to punch him in the face, I’l...
The Plot Against America, American novelist Philip Roth builds
One way of tackling our deepening partisan divide, then, would be to genuinely address the bread-and-butter concerns of long-neglected segments of the population—no matter their ethnicity.
All successful democracies rely on informal rules that, though not found in the constitution or any laws, are widely known and respected. In the case of American democracy, this has been vital.
The Depression also gave rise to Louisiana governor and senator Huey Long, who called himself the Kingfish. Long was described by the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. as the great demagogue of the...
We fear that if Trump were to confront a war or terrorist attack, he would exploit this crisis fully—using it to attack political opponents and restrict freedoms Americans take for granted. In our vie...
When major businesses join progressive boycotts, they often succeed.
By 1936, Spain’s nascent democracy had degenerated into a civil war.
Most often, the capture of the referees is done by quietly firing civil servants and other nonpartisan officials and replacing them with loyalists.
Sin embargo, existe otra manera de hacer quebrar una democracia, un modo menos dramático pero igual de destructivo. Las democracias pueden fracasar a manos no ya de generales, sino de líderes electos,...
Senator Joseph McCarthy, who used the Cold War fear of communist subversion to promote blacklisting, censorship, and book banning, enjoyed wide backing among the American public. At the height of McCa...
It was not unusual for figures such as Coughlin, Long, McCarthy, and Wallace to gain the support of a sizable minority - 30 or even 40 percent - of the country. We often tell ourselves that America's...
Would-be autocrats often use economic crises, natural disasters, and especially security threats—wars, armed insurgencies, or terrorist attacks—to justify antidemocratic measures.
Showing 21 to 40 of 231 results