‘We’re Facing Another Old Enemy’: Rushdie Warns against Global Authoritarianism

THE GUARDIAN: Speaking in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Rushdie says US Republicans are moving away from democratic values including free speech

Salman Rushdie, pictured here on 18 May 2023 in New York. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Salman Rushdie has warned of the threat of authoritarianism globally and said the US Republican party is “seeking to undermine” democratic values, at a forum in Philadelphia to discuss the threats against free speech in the US and around the world.

Appearing by video at the National First Amendment Summit on Wednesday, Rushdie attributed the rise of Donald Trump and Brexit to a “golden age myth”.

Rushdie, who was attacked in New York a little over a year ago, spoke as book bans continue to proliferate through the US. Interviewed by Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of the freedom of expression organization PEN America, Rushdie was asked what the greatest threat to free speech is today.

“If you asked me 10 or 20 years ago, I would probably have said that the main problems facing freedom of expression emanate from religious extremism,” Rushdie said.

“I think now we’re facing another old enemy, which is authoritarianism. I think there’s a real rise in authoritarian movements around the world, populist authoritarian demagoguery.

“Coupled with that, [there is] a willingness amongst at least some part of the population to cease to value the democratic values enshrined in the first amendment. So I think the problem is, I would now say, political more than primarily religious.” » | Adam Gabbatt | Thursday, September 14, 2023

Former Moscow Rabbi Wants All Jews to Leave Putin's Russia | Conflict Zone

Moscow's former chief rabbi discusses anti-Semitism, morality and red line between democracy and authoritarianism in Vladimir Putin's Russia. Pinchas Goldschmidt spoke with Tim Sebastian from Berlin.

Tucker Carlson Under Fire for Fawning over Authoritarian Leader, Touting Hungary as Model for US

May 24, 2022 • The most influential conservative gathering on the right, CPAC, was recently held in Budapest, Hungary. Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has fawned over Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in past interviews, addressed the gathering, telling attendees the country’s ethno-nationalist regime offers a “better way” for America. MSNBC’s Ari Melber reports on the GOP’s embrace of “foreign exceptionalism” and the party’s decision to abandon policy.

Will Ukraine War Spark a Decline in Support for Authoritarianism? | The Bottom Line

Mar 25, 2022 • When Francis Fukuyama wrote the book The End of History and the Last Man after the Soviet Union was dissolved 30 years ago, he argued that the West’s version of liberal democracy had triumphed over all other ideologies.

Since then, an increasing number of countries are becoming more authoritarian or illiberal democracies.

Fukuyama tells host Steve Clemons that the Ukraine war is a turning point for Western-style democracy, and institutions such as NATO are getting a boost in popularity. People will eventually turn their backs on authoritarian, populist and nationalist ideologies and leaders, in his estimation, and relearn how to tolerate differences.

The Psychology of an Isolated Russia | The New Yorker

Mar 11, 2022 • David Remnick and the historian Steve Kotkin discuss Vladimir Putin and how authoritarian regimes are pushed into misguided foreign wars.

The War in Ukraine Holds a Warning for the World Order

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The multinational response shows that liberalism has some life left. But the challenges posed by waning U.S. power and rising authoritarianism remain formidable.

The liberal world order has been on life support for a while. President Biden, in his inaugural address, called democracy “fragile.” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said two years ago that “the liberal idea” had “outlived its purpose,” while China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has extolled the strength of an all-powerful state and, as he put it last March, “self-confidence in our system.”

The multinational response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that the demise of the global postwar rules-based order may not be inevitable. A month ago, no one predicted that Germany would reverse decades of military hesitancy and pour 100 billion euros into its defense budget, or that Switzerland would freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs, or that YouTube, World Cup soccer and global energy companies would all cut ties to Russia.

But the reappearance of war in Europe is also an omen. With toddlers sheltering in subway tunnels, and nuclear power plants under threat, it is a global air raid siren — a warning that the American-led system of internationalism needs to get itself back into gear, for the war at hand and for the struggle against authoritarianism to come. » | Damien Cave | Friday, March 4, 2022

The UK Is Becoming an Authoritarian State under Home Secretary, Priti Patel

Jul 26, 2021 • The Home Secretary is a bully. She has been accused of bullying in three separate government departments and was found guilty of bullying by a Cabinet Committee resulting in compensation payments of £395,000.

She has persistently broken the ministerial code throughout her ministerial career. Whilst at the Foreign Office working under Boris Johnson who was then Foreign Secretary, she visited Israel claiming to be on holiday and held at least twelve meetings with senior Israeli government officials including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Neither the British ambassador in Israel nor the prime minister Theresa May knew about these meetings.

She again broke the ministerial code by writing at least twice on behalf of a friend in order to secure a PPE contract for £102.6 million for masks which were supplied at double the benchmark price.

She is pushing through legislation which will give the Home Secretary, or the police, the power to stop any demonstrations at will if judged to be making too much noise or causing annoyance. Those who resist will be liable to imprisonment for up to ten years.

Other legislation will make whistleblowing a criminal offence as will publishing articles considered critical of the government. This will included the government having the power to control the movements and association of certain named individuals without reference to the courts.

She seeks to punish any asylum seeker arriving in the UK without permission with up to four years in prison. She also seeks to extend laws which currently apply to paid people-smugglers to everyone so that offering any assistance to asylum seekers, even saving them from drowning, will become a crime punishable with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

She is ruthlessly pursuing a course which will lead to the UK to becoming a fascist state where any dissent will be illegal.

Why Are Autocrats Popular? - Assault on Democracy | DW Documentary

Nov 6, 2021 • A wave of authoritarianism is churning from East to West and assailing civil society. Autocrats are threatening democracy, while their regimes portray NGOs as Trojan horses for foreign interference.

The resurgence of authoritarianism is impacting countries across the globe, no matter what their form of government. "In the Crosshairs of the State" documents this worldwide phenomenon using the examples of India, Russia, and Poland and shows how civil society is being repressed, and what impact this can have on the future of democracy.

When populists and autocrats wield power, the first victims are civil liberties. However, regimes aren’t stopping at attacking and imprisoning activists - they go as far as criminalizing entire groups and freezing their funds. These governments are increasingly targeting NGOs and other players in civil society that demand democracy and assert human rights or protest about social grievances and environmental destruction. The methods of choice are defamation campaigns, repression, and criminalization.

In the past few years, certain countries have passed over 60 laws specifically aiming to systematically impede NGOs’ work or completely put an end to it. The root causes are wide-ranging, but it all boils down to rulers’ desire to remain in power and protect their economic interests. Beyond authoritarian wielders of power, democratic governments are increasingly clamping down on independent and critical players, too.

Are we experiencing a full-on global assault on civil society? What happens when the driving force of democracy - the people themselves - is silenced? How can we counter this development? Film director Sebastian Weis investigates these question, relating the situations in India, Russia, and Poland chapter by chapter, with each country representing an overarching issue. India faces environmental destruction, Russians are seeing human rights be eroded, and in Poland women’s rights are under attack.

Opinion: Tucker Carlson Has a New Hero

Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tucker Carlson is only the latest — and most famous — American conservative to find inspiration in the autocratic government of Hungary under Viktor Orban. The Fox News personality is hosting his show, one of the most popular on cable news, from the capital in Budapest and on Saturday will deliver a speech, advertised as “The World According to Tucker Carlson,” to a conference of far-right activists.

To critics, Orban’s Hungary is corrupt, repressive and authoritarian, a place where democracy is little more than window-dressing and the state exists to plunder the public on behalf of a tiny ruling elite. To Carlson, it’s a model for the United States, a showcase for anti-immigrant policies and reactionary cultural politics.

“If you care about Western civilization and democracy and families and the ferocious assault on all three of those things by the leaders of our global institutions,” he told his audience on Monday, “you should know what is happening here right now.”

Carlson is not alone. “Orban’s fans in the West include notable writers at major conservative and right-leaning publications like National Review, the American Conservative and the New York Post,” Zack Beauchamp wrote in a piece for Vox last year. » | Jamelle Bouie, Opinion Columnist | Friday, August 6, 2021

Related video here.

Tammy Duckworth: Tucker Carlson Doesn’t Know What Patriotism Is »

The Truth Behind Tucker Carlson's Disturbing Trip to Hungary

Aug 6, 2021 • Right-wing FOX News host Tucker Carlson is broadcasting from Hungary and praising that nation's hardline policies. We discuss what's really going on with Democratic Strategist Don Calloway and fmr. adviser to Republican presidents Mark McKinnon.

Merkley: Trump Has Brought Authoritarian Tactics to the Streets of Our Country | Deadline | MSNBC

Senator from Oregon Jeff Merkley speaks with Nicolle Wallace about the presence of federal law enforcement in Portland and Trump’s announcement that agents will be deployed to more cities. Aired on 07/22/2020.

USA – Authoritarianism: We Thought We Were Free (2014)

America used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave - but over time - we've become a shell of our former self. What's driving this change - and is there any way to stop it?

Robert Reich: Trump's Cabinet Has No Idea How Working People Live

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich is no fan of the President-elect and fears his authoritarianism, and Tucker takes him on their economic similarities

Turkey Passes Controversial Medical Aid Bill

Erdogan is accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian

AL JAZEERA: Bill that makes it crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorisation comes into force.

A controversial medical bill that makes it a crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorisation has come into force in Turkey despite an outcry from rights groups.

Under the legislation that was approved by President Abdullah Gul on Friday, those convicted could be imprisoned for up to three years and face fines of nearly $1m from January 18.

Critics fear it could be used to bar doctors and medical workers from treating protesters wounded in anti-government demonstrations as reportedly happened during mass street protests in June last year.

The US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) branded the legislation another attempt by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to quash dissent.

"Passing a bill that criminalises emergency care and punishes those who care for injured protesters is part of the Turkish government's relentless effort to silence any opposing voices," PHR senior medical adviser Vincent Iacopino said.

"This kind of targeting of the medical community is not only repugnant, but puts everyone's health at risk," he said in a statement on the PHR website.

The legislation, drawn up by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), bars medical professionals from working outside state health institutions and is aimed at preventing doctors from setting up private clinics for example.

Medical professionals who break the law would face up to three years in prison and be fined up to $985,000 (728,000 euros). » | Source: AFP | Saturday, January 18, 2014

Force, Fear Keep Iran Together
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: A year after Ahmadinejad’s ‘victory,’ the resistance dares not speak, but fissures exist

This may prove to be the darkest week in Iran’s recent history. There is, it seems, nowhere to go. Yet the nature of this darkness, its awkward fit with the official meaning of the Islamic regime, may show us a way forward.

Exactly a year ago Sunday, when it became apparent that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had claimed victory in an election whose results and conditions were not at all clear, the streets of Tehran began to fill with people.

It does not really matter whether Mr. Ahmadinejad stole an election that went against him (as protesters claim) or not; what this year of protest has shown is that Iran is far more fissiparous than anyone had thought, and that only force and fear, not faith and support, keeps it conglomerated. Even if you discount the hyperbole the foreign media directed at the “green tide” last year, this was by far the largest and lengthiest uprising in the Iranian revolution’s history.

It encompassed a huge swath of society; most significantly, it involved large numbers of clerics and top leaders, including former prime ministers, who were actively involved in the 1979 revolution and whose loyalty to the state is beyond question: This could not easily be dismissed as the work of radical guerrilla groups or outside agitators salaried by the United States or Britain.

As the year has progressed, and especially after the authorities went on a killing spree in December, on the holy day of Ashura, these figures have become more antipathetic toward the regime itself: There is now an official, built-in resistance with a name and an identity.

But you will probably not be seeing much of this resistance this week. It has become far, far too dangerous. Thursday, the key leaders of the protests, former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, told people to stay home: The alternative was a slaughter. The regime’s shift from authoritarian to totalitarian – its adoption of Stasi-like practices that had not been part of its repertoire before – have rendered such demonstrations temporarily impossible. Read on and comment >>> Doug Saunders | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Freedom Is Now Flowing from West to East
TIMES ONLINE: In August 1989 as communism collapsed, Britain was a beacon to the new regimes. Today we are squandering our liberty

I’ve spent much of the past 20 years living in or reporting on the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Nowadays, with Budapest, Prague and Warsaw two hours away by budget airline, it’s hard to imagine that before 1989, half a continent was imprisoned behind landmines and barbed wire, its citizens terrorised by secret police, intentionally ground down by the endless, intrusive demands of the one-party state.

I saw those borders torn down, democracies arise and the basic freedoms that we take for granted — speech, movement and public protest — enthusiastically embraced.

Twenty years ago today the world witnessed the power of the crowd. Hungary’s reformist communist Government permitted the pan-European picnic near the city of Sopron, on the border with Austria, as a symbol of its commitment to a united Europe. The border was to be opened so that about 100 dignitaries and officially approved picnickers could cross freely back and forth. But Hungary was crowded with thousands of East Germans desperate to escape to the West. Many camped near the site of the picnic, waiting for the crucial moment. When the border was opened at three o’clock they surged forward. The guards did not open fire. They stepped back and allowed the East Germans to break through.

This, not the opening of the Berlin Wall in November, was the tipping point. August 19, 1989, accelerated a chain of events that brought down communism and the Soviet Union itself. Such is the power of the crowd.

After 1989 Big Brother was no longer welcome in Budapest, Prague or Warsaw — he moved to London to be ever more warmly embraced by successive Labour administrations. The birthplace of political liberties, the home of the Magna Carta, is now one of the most intrusive democracies in the world. Labour governments have introduced surveillance and monitoring systems of which the communists could only dream. Of course, Britain is not a real police state. But it is certainly sliding further into authoritarianism. >>> Adam LeBor | Saturday, August 22, 2009

Kasparov Calls on EU to Recognise Russia as an Authoritarian Régime

Photo of Kasparov courtesy of THE TELEGRAPH

TELEGRAPH: Garry Kasparov yesterday called on Europe to face up to the fact that Russia is an authoritarian regime, not a democracy.

The chess champion turned activist was prevented from staging a protest as EU leaders met with President Vladimir Putin.

"They should be honest," he told The Daily Telegraph at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. "Russia is not a democratic regime, it is an authoritarian regime. Putin is not a democrat, they should recognise this. EU must see Putin is not a democrat (more)

Mark Alexander