Has the Trump resistance been too passive? Here are 7 ways to effectively protest authoritarian rule |
The United States, it has long been claimed, is organically disposed towards democracy. When the Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1600s, the first governor, John Winthrop, called the new settlement a “city upon a hill” that inspires the world.
This notion of American manifest destiny, however, has always depended on a blindingly obvious precondition: you cannot claim to be a beacon for democracy abroad without being a democracy at home.
Over the centuries, these democratic credentials have been tested numerous times. And now the US faces its biggest test in decades: the Trump administration’s blatant slide into authoritarianism.
Having studied authoritarian rule and democratic backsliding for two decades, I have watched with dismay how little – or sporadic – the non-violent resistance has been to Trump’s dictatorial ambitions.
Yes, the No Kings protest in October saw an estimated five million people march across the country. This followed a No Kings protest of similar magnitude in June.
Organised mass protests are certainly important, but by one estimate, the Trump administration carried out approximately 963 anti-democratic actions between these two rallies.
Mass protests are laudable, but insufficient. And the absence of Gen Z protesters has been particularly conspicuous.
What more could Americans be doing? Here are seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
The No Kings rallies have been organised by hundreds of progressive grassroots organisations. Yet the Democratic Party has so far chosen not to employ this strategy, despite its supporters begging for it to take a more aggressive stance against the Trump administration. Its congressional leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, have been roundly criticised for their perceived fecklessness.
In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, by........