American Democracy on the Brink a Year after Trump’s Election, Experts Say

THE GUARDIAN: Scale and speed of president’s moves have stunned observers of authoritarian regimes – is the US in democratic peril?

Three hundred and sixty-five days after Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible and completed an extraordinary return to power, many historians, scholars and experts say his presidency has pushed American democracy to the brink – or beyond it.

In the first year of Trump’s second term, the democratically elected US president has moved with startling speed to consolidate authority: dismantling federal agencies, purging the civil service, firing independent watchdogs, sidelining Congress, challenging judicial rulings, deploying federal force in blue cities, stifling dissent, persecuting political enemies, targeting immigrants, scapegoating marginalized groups, ordering the capture of a foreign leader, leveraging the presidency for profit, trampling academic freedom and escalating attacks on the news media.

The scale and velocity of what he has been able to accomplish in just a year have stunned even longtime observers of authoritarian regimes, pushing the debate among academics and Americans from whether the world’s oldest continuous democracy is backsliding to whether it can still faithfully claim that distinction.

“In 2025, the United States ceased to be a full democracy in the way that Canada, Germany or even Argentina are democracies,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, the prominent Harvard political scientists and authors of How Democracies Die, and the University of Toronto professor Lucan Way, wrote in Foreign Affairs last month. They argued that the US under Trump had “descended into competitive authoritarianism”, a system in which elections are held but the ruling party abuses power to stifle dissent and tilt the playing field in its favor. » | Lauren Gambino | Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Trump's Project 2026: How American Democracy Gets Dismantled by Stealth

Jan 1, 2026 | Donald Trump’s political project is often misunderstood as a campaign, a presidency, or a movement. This video argues it is something far more dangerous: a sustained effort to hollow out democratic constraints until elections still happen—but no longer decide outcomes. From the Big Lie and January 6 to loyalty tests, voter suppression, gerrymandering, and narrative control, this analysis traces how elections can be deformed without ever being formally abolished. It examines how rules are rewritten, institutions weakened, and doubt normalized—so that defeat is treated as illegitimate and intervention becomes “justified.” This is not about one election. It’s about whether American democracy remains real or becomes performative.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Post-Truth Is Pre-Fascism: Can We Still Save American Democracy?

Dec 11, 2025 | “Post-truth is pre-fascism.” In this conversation, we dig into what that actually means for the United States right now — the state of American democracy, the collapse of local news, tech oligarchs, social media, and even the impossible question: how do you know when it’s time to leave?

We talk about why democracy is not a thing you have but something you do, why facts are a form of protection for the least powerful among us, and how “both-sides” coverage and endless online outrage are quietly doing the work of authoritarians for them.

Thom Hartmann: Are We Watching Democracy Collapse?

Nov 28, 2025 | Corruption is at a level America has NEVER seen before.

Brian Klaas: “The United States Is Now a Competitive Authoritarian System”

LSE: Is the United States still a democracy? In an interview with EUROPP’s editor Stuart Brown, Brian Klaas discusses Donald Trump’s impact on American and global democracy.

I would say the United States is now a “competitive authoritarian” system. This is political science jargon for countries that have the trappings of democracy, but without a level playing field.

In other words, there is genuine competition in the United States between political parties and democratic institutions persist, but the state is able to manipulate outcomes to its advantage, disadvantage its opponents and use state power in illegitimate or undemocratic ways with little to no recourse against it.

Political scientists continue to debate this topic, but few would classify the United States as a robust democracy. It is either a democracy in crisis that is barely clinging onto the label, or one that has tipped over the edge into competitive authoritarianism – and I believe it’s the latter. » | Brian Klaas | Friday, September 19, 2025

Are We Losing Our Democracy?

THE NEW TORK TIMES: Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.

Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose. » | The Editorial Board | The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. | Friday, October 31, 2025

What Would You Do If Democracy Was Being Dismantled Before Your Eyes? Whatever You’re Doing Right Now

THE GUARDIAN — OPINION: In California, daily life under Trump is marked by sporadic resistance and avoidance. Neither will defeat the autocrats

How would you behave if your democracy was being dismantled? In most western countries, that used to be an academic question. Societies where this process had happened, such as Germany in the 1930s, seemed increasingly distant. The contrasting ways that people reacted to authoritarianism and autocracy, both politically and in their everyday lives, while darkly fascinating and important to study and remember, seemed of diminishing relevance to now.

Not any more. Illiberal populism has spread across the world, either challenging for power or entrenching itself in office, from Argentina to Italy, France to Indonesia, Hungary to Britain. But probably the most significant example of a relatively free, pluralist society and political system turning into something very different remains the US, now nine months into Donald Trump’s second term. » | Andy Becket | Friday, October 31, 2025

Trump’s Election Plans Are a ‘Dire Threat’ to American Democracy | Sidney Blumenthal

Oct 26, 2025 | “We're going to face a pattern of intimidation and subversion. Trump is an election denier.”

Trump plans to “monitor elections” in states with large Hispanic populations, potentially using ICE - a “dire possibility” for US democracy, says former Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal.

Jamie Raskin: “Democracy Will Be the End of Fascism”

Oct 15, 2025 | Congressman Jamie Raskin joins Terry Moran for an urgent conversation about the state of American democracy, Trump’s assault on the rule of law, and the path forward. From the courts to Congress, Raskin offers a rare mix of constitutional clarity and personal conviction — and a call to defend democracy before it’s too late.

The US Needs a Democracy Movement

Oct 13, 2025 | Anne Applebaum is an award-winning historian and journalist who studies democracy and dictatorship. Her latest book, Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World, explores how autocracies are working together to undermine democracy across the globe. Fortunately, Applebaum also considers how democracies can maintain their power against the siege of authoritarianism. Today, why is democracy worth fighting for and how can it be protected in the U.S. Plus: why Poland is a guide for how to reverse years of democratic backsliding.

France Is Not Alone in Its Crisis of Political Faith – Belief in a Democratic World Is Vanishing

THE GUARDIAN — OPINION: The populist right offers a solution in the form of turning back the clock. Macron and his counterparts need to find a different answer fast

Emmanuel Macron sounded like a man in grief. Not angry, not defiant, just a little triste. Europe, he lamented, was suffering a “degeneration of democracy”. Many threats emanated from outside, from Russia, from China, from powerful US tech companies and social-media entrepreneurs, France’s president said. “But we should not be naive. On the inside we are turning on ourselves. We doubt our own democracy … We see everywhere that something is happening to our democratic fabric. Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred.”

Squeezed between vituperative extremes of right and left, Macron knows of what he speaks. But “ungovernable” France is not alone in its bitter, intractable divisions. Across Europe, in the UK and the US, distrust and grievance daily deepen political dysfunction and social discord. Macron’s words apply, in fact, to almost any country espousing democratic principles. Belief that democracy is the form of governance best suited to the modern world is dwindling, especially among younger people. Meanwhile, the public space grows coarser and more violent. Macron was speaking at an event marking the 35th anniversary of Germany’s 1990 reunification, a moment of great optimism. Yet, like France, today’s polarised Germany faces an acute crisis of political faith. » | Simon Tisdall | Sunday, October 12, 2025

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy (2024)

Apr 26, 2025 | Zionists, Evangelists, whatever you want to call them, their BLASPHEMY goes so far as to claim that George Washington went through an "apotheosis" when he died. Literally claiming that a slave-owning, over-taxing Freemason "became a god." That is what apotheosis means. It is an undeniable and documented fact that the vast majority of all U.S. founders were Deists and Freemasons, with a much smaller percentage of Christians. The patriotic (PAY-tri-IDIOT) crowd would like to keep dreaming that their slave-owning Deists and Masons were "Christians" but in educated reality, they are heavily uninformed and massively in need of facts.

‘Bitcoin Is the Free Speech of Money’: Fears Grow over Far Right’s Embrace of Crypto

THE OBSERVER: Hard-to trace digital transactions could lead to hostile states or criminal organisations secretly making political donations and threatening democracy

When Elon Musk appeared on huge screens dotted along Whitehall last weekend calling for thousands of attendees at far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally to “fight back… or die”, the tech billionaire’s image was accompanied by the logos of the event’s sponsors. All but one were cryptocurrencies.

It highlighted the arrival in Britain of a global pattern: the embrace by extreme rightwing movements of decentralised digital currencies.

Athena Bitcoin Global, one of the main sponsors of the event, which saw up to 150,000 people gather in central London, has been accused of profiting from cybercrime in the US.

This month, the attorney general for the District of Columbia (DC) accused the company, which makes bitcoin ATMs that exchange the cryptocurrency for cash and vice versa, of knowingly profiting from scams targeting elderly victims for “life-altering” sums of cash.

In a lawsuit filed against Athena, DC attorney general Brian Schwalb alleged that 93% of the deposits in that district in its first five months were “the product of outright fraud”. » | Catherine Neilan, Whitehall editor; John Simpson, Home affairs editor | Sunday, September 21, 2025

'Death by a Thousand Cuts': Garry Kasparov on How Democratic Rights Can Slowly Slip Away

Sep 19, 2025 | "The moment you hear 'public interest,' it should ring the bell." Russian dissident Garry Kasparov, founder and chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, talks with Jen Psaki about what it looked like as Russia's democracy gave way to autocracy under Putin, and parallels he sees with the Trump regime now.

Trump Bans Free Speech, Promises War on Democracy - This Is Not a Drill

Sep 17, 2025

Nina Jankowicz on the Information Warfare Undermining Democracy as We Fall to Authoritarian Rule

Sep 15, 2025

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Trump’s Extreme Use of Presidential Power Is ‘Removing Checks and Balances’ | David Graham

Sep 8, 2025 | “It feels as though there are checks and balances being removed all the time."

The idea that the US is sliding into authoritarianism may seem exaggerated, but Trump’s normalisation of extreme presidential powers is putting democracy at risk, says The Atlantic’s David Graham.

Agents of Democracy : Civil Society under Attack

Sep 7, 2025 | Around the world, civil society — the backbone of democracy — is under threat. From India and Russia to Poland, populists and autocrats are tightening their grip, silencing activists, shutting down NGOs, and criminalising dissent. What happens to democracy when those fighting for it are silenced?

Osita Nwanevu Explains How ‘We The People’ Can Save the Country from Oligarchs, Tyrants and Thieves

Sep 1, 2025 | As American democracy collapses in slow motion to a tin-pot tyrant, journalist and author Osita Nwanevu joins Anthony Davis to explain how ‘we the people’ can save the country from oligarchs - and how grass roots organizing is already demonstrating success for Democratic candidates - only on The Weekend Show.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

After Hitler: The Path to Democracy

Apr 20, 2025 | With the invasion of neighboring Poland by the German armed forces in the fall of 1939, Germany ignited the Second World War. Six years of murder, destruction, expulsion and hunger shaped the fate of people in many parts of the world.

In May 1945, the guns fell silent in Europe. Germany was defeated. An end and a beginning at the same time. But how did the political, social and economic reconstruction take shape in post-war Germany? How did a dictatorship become a democracy?

We look at the first years after the end of the war – and the long road towards a new political order.