Anti-democratic politics in the US
Anti-democratic politics in the United States refers to a growing trend of erosion in democratic values and institutions, marked by increasing polarization and authoritarian tendencies. The nation has been classified as a "flawed democracy" in the global Democracy Index, reflecting concerns over the strength of democratic practices. Factors contributing to this decline include a bitter partisan divide, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the politicization of government institutions. Historical examples of anti-democratic actions in the U.S., such as the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War and the rise of extremist movements, illustrate that these challenges are not new.
In recent years, significant events, including the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election and the violent January 6 Capitol riot, have further highlighted the tensions surrounding democratic governance. The 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd and the emergence of movements like Antifa reflect the ongoing struggles over civil rights and political expression. The heightened political rhetoric, with both major parties accusing each other of anti-democratic behavior, underscores the deeply entrenched divisions in contemporary American society. Polls indicate broad support among voters for strong leadership willing to take drastic measures, indicating a shift in public sentiment towards authoritarian approaches to governance.
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Anti-democratic politics in the United States
The twenty-first century has witnessed growing concern over anti-democratic and authoritarian politics in the United States and other liberal Western democracies. Each year, The Economist publishes a global Democracy Index that tracks the relative strength of democratic values in nations around the world. The 2022 edition saw the United States rank thirtieth with a score of 7.85 out of 10, a showing that classified the country as a “flawed democracy.”
Expert analysts point to numerous factors driving the erosion of democratic values in the United States. Major examples include a highly polarized and increasingly bitter partisan divide in the country, the lingering effects of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and the political weaponization of key government departments and institutions. Radicalization and extremism have also increased at both ends of the political spectrum, particularly since the mid-2010s. As a result, both partisan and independent voters increasingly embrace the idea of electing political leaders who will take drastic, punitive action against their opponents.
Brief History
Policies and movements widely viewed as anti-democratic have gained traction in the United States at varying points in the nation’s history. One well-known example relates to the Civil War (1861–1865), when President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, justifying the unprecedented decision as necessary to protect public order and safety. The writ of habeas corpus is a critical element of the legal and criminal justice systems of the United States and other democratic countries. It prohibits authorities from summarily and indefinitely detaining and imprisoning citizens.
During the so-called “Gilded Age” of the late nineteenth century, US politics fell heavily under corrupting influences. Presidents and other high-ranking officials displayed a pattern of appointing like-minded supporters to key positions, resulting in policy infrastructure that heavily favored the interests of large corporations and the wealthy entrepreneurs behind them. The resultant public backlash led directly to the reformist progressive movement of the early twentieth century.
Following World War II (1939–1945), political extremist George Lincoln Rockwell founded the American Nazi Party. Though the party remained on the fringes of the national political scene and attracted only a small membership, it inspired a series of White supremacy successor movements that persist as democratic threats in the twenty-first century. Another infamous episode of anti-democratic authoritarianism occurred in 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a group of students protesting US involvement in the Vietnam War (1955–1975) on the campus of Kent State University, killing four people and wounding nine others.
Since the 1990s, and especially since the turn of the twenty-first century, political experts have tracked a global rise in anti-democratic authoritarianism around the world. Analysts have attributed the phenomenon to multiple influences, including the failures of globalism and capitalist economic systems, antiterrorism efforts, and the appeal to authoritarian regimes of the surveillance capabilities of digital and Internet technologies. The impacts of the trend have not spared the United States, and the effects have become especially apparent since Donald Trump scored a surprise win over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election.
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Trump’s tumultuous presidency thrust anti-democratic US political movements into the national spotlight on multiple occasions. In 2017, a right-wing rally branded as “Unite the Right” assembled in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the planned removal of a statue depicting Civil War-era Confederate leader Robert E. Lee. During the event, White nationalists clashed with opposition groups, resulting in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer. The event heaped negative attention onto the state of US right-wing extremism, which political analysts and media commentators widely associated with Trump’s brand of populist politics.
During the global COVID-19 pandemic, most US states responded by imposing severe restrictions on public gatherings and activities. While the measures were widely touted as necessary to save lives, they were also polarizing and drew criticism on the grounds that they were unconstitutional and differentially enforced. Mass protests erupted across the United States in response to the May 2020 killing of Black Minneapolis resident George Floyd by White police officer Derek Chauvin, which took place as pandemic restrictions against group gatherings were still active in many of the sites where they occurred. The summer of 2020 witnessed the emergence of Antifa, a militant far-left neocommunist movement, in the US political mainstream as protests and civil unrest continued ahead of the scheduled 2020 presidential election.
Trump infamously rejected the results of the 2020 election after he was defeated by Joe Biden, spotlighting a sharp partisan divide marked by competing narratives surrounding the event. Supporters of Trump held that the integrity of the election had been compromised but were not able to produce any supporting evidence. Trump’s opposition held that the ousted president, supportive members of the Republican Party and adherents from the far-right reaches of his voter base were anti-democratically denying the results from the election and were mounting an illegal attempt to retain power. The resultant tensions exploded on January 6, 2021, when a Trump rally devolved into violence that led to an officially recorded tally of five deaths in riots at the US Capitol.
Since President Biden took office, both major political parties have accused their opponents of embracing anti-democratic values. Democrats and many mainstream media outlets have branded Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement as a pressing and critical threat to US democracy. Republicans have countered that Trump’s June 2023 arrest on federal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents amounts to an anti-democratic political persecution intended to disqualify Trump from mounting a third bid for the US presidency in 2024. Poll data from 2023 indicated the intense nature of the US political divide and the country’s continued drift into anti-democratic authoritarianism. A majority of poll respondents from six of seven studied partisan affiliations agreed with the survey question, “The only way our country can solve its current problems is by supporting tough leaders who will crack down on those who undermine American values.” The statement won broad support from Democrat, Republican, and independent voters alike.
Bibliography
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Leonhardt, David. “America's Anti-Democratic Movement.” The New York Times, 13 Dec. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/12/13/briefing/anti-democratic-movement-us-politics.html. Accessed 14 June 2023.
Reich, Robert. “America’s Billionaire Class Is Funding Anti-Democratic Forces.” The Guardian, 23 May 2022, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/23/americas-billionaire-class-is-funding-anti-democratic-forces. Accessed 14 Jun. 2023.
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“The World’s Most, And Least, Democratic Countries in 2022.” The Economist, 1 Feb. 2023, www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/02/01/the-worlds-most-and-least-democratic-countries-in-2022. Accessed 14 June 2023.
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