How America Can Avoid Becoming Russia - The Atlantic

The Threat to American Democracy

The article warns of a growing threat to American democracy, drawing parallels to the rise of authoritarianism under Vladimir Putin in Russia. It argues that the Trump administration, with the aid of figures like Elon Musk, is systematically weakening democratic institutions through various actions such as attacking the press, delegitimizing the judiciary, and undermining the economy.

Key Parallels with Russia

The author, Garry Kasparov, highlights several key parallels between Trump's actions and Putin's tactics in Russia, including:

• Attacking the press as the 'enemy of the state'
• Delegitimizing the judiciary
• Expanding influence over the economy
• Creating a culture of fear

He emphasizes that these actions represent a deliberate effort to undermine democratic norms and establish an authoritarian regime.

Strategies for Resistance

Kasparov suggests several strategies for resisting this trend. These include:

• Focusing on the methods used by the administration to subvert democracy, rather than solely on the policies themselves.
• Utilizing all available means of political pressure, including legal challenges, media engagement, and political mobilization.
• Directing pressure towards the weakest links in the political system, encouraging those who would oppose the administration and punishing those who don't.
• Avoiding picking battles and fighting on all fronts to preserve democracy.

He warns against prioritizing policy disagreements over the defense of democratic institutions, arguing that failing to defend the latter will ultimately render policy debates irrelevant.

The Importance of Principles

The article underscores the importance of defending the core principles of American democracy, including due process, the rule of law, and the separation of powers. It urges Americans to actively engage in defending these values before it's too late, drawing from his personal experience with the loss of democracy in Russia.

A Call to Action

The concluding message is a call to action for Americans to recognize the severity of the threat and to act decisively to preserve their democratic institutions, emphasizing the need to fight against the erosion of democratic norms and the concentration of power in the hands of a few.