The global socio-political landscape is undergoing significant shifts, driven by technology advancements, climate change, economic disparities, the struggle for human rights and the challenge of maintaining democratic norms amidst rising autocratic tendencies in various parts of the world- including the U.S. As pro democracy advocates, gaining a better understanding of the battlefield in order to develop effective strategies to neutralize its threats is key. Professor Larry Diamond, a leading contemporary scholar in the field of democracy studies at Stanford University, focuses on democratic trends and conditions around the world and on policies and reforms to defend and advance democracy. He has researched and authored works that outline both the methods followed by autocrats as well as ways for us to fight back.
In a recent conversation with journalist Martin Wolf of The Financial Times, Professor Diamond explained the autocrats’ playbook,
“The playbook that the autocrats have been using starts by demonizing the opposition as illegitimate and not really of and for the people. They go to war on the media… Then they go to war on the courts. They try to suborn, neuter or gain control of the judiciary… so that it cannot be a check on their authoritarian ambitions. They move through the other levers of power: the civil service, the intelligence services, the state security apparatus. They allege that all the old professional non-partisan civil servants are really “deep state” disloyal to the new political project. They go to war against civil society, against the universities, think-tanks, independent organizations that could be, again, a check on the abuse of power. This list is a common playbook. It’s visible across all authoritarian projects.”
Diamond’s 12-step Program For Autocrats
Demonize and delegitimize all political opposition
Undermine the independence of the courts.
Undermine the independence of the media
Gain control of public broadcasting
Constrain Internet freedom
Subdue civil society: NGOs, universities, think tanks
Intimidate the business community into submission
Enrich a class of loyal crony capitalists
Extend political control over state bureaucracy & security
Rig electoral rules
Gain control over electoral administration
Repeat steps 1 to 11, ever more vigorously
Dive deeper on each step here…
Professor Diamond looks closely at democracy from a global framework as well, and frankly things are not going well for democracy globally. He notes that there is a global trend “with a common ambition, which is as old as human civilization, to amass and acquire power and wealth and to build monopolies of both, if you can get away with it.” This has been well documented from the rise of President Orban in Hungary, to the Erdogan case study in how to use populism, intimidation and division to harness a democracy and stay in power. Even in India, Prime Minister Modi continues to concentrate his power through control of the media and the judiciary and recently had his main opponent banned from Parliament. During a speech in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken highlighted that countries, including Kenya, considered vibrant democracies, are facing growing democracy risks, from misinformation, corruption, political violence, and voter intimidation. He emphasized that the United States, often seen as the world leader in democracy,“is hardly immune from this challenge,” Blinken said, “We’ve seen how fragile our own democracy can be.”
As we look to the U.S. 2024 Presidential election, Professor Diamond has expressed some concerning predictions. In the event that former President Donald Trump were to win the election again, Professor Diamond predicts we would have a very early on, a profound constitutional crisis. He goes on to say,
“[Trump] would move very quickly with very extreme elements of his government and cabinet. Michael Flynn would probably be brought in again as national security adviser. They would immediately go after the FBI and the IRS and other elements of the “deep state” to try and politicize them. We’d be on the road to Erdoğan, Orban or Modi. It would test the strength of American institutions and the courage of American politicians, judges and justices to a degree that we’ve never seen before in American history.”
So what can we do to preserve democracy and limit autocracy in the U.S.? To safeguard democracy and mitigate the rise of autocracy in the United States, proponents of democracy have developed their own strategic approach. Drawing from Professor Diamond’s research and insights from other experts, below is the 12-step playbook outlining measures to preserve democracy:
Diamond’s 12-step Program to Preserve Democracy
Defeat anti-democratic enemies electorally before it becomes too late.
Insist political parties modify their programmatic agendas to the more urgent goal of containing anti-democratic forces.
Never compromise with authoritarianism.
Unite among the democratic forces.
Enforce the rules when extremist groups try to build support.
Enforce the law in a careful, neutral, and restrained fashion that does not make celebrities out of political thugs.
Bridge the cultural divide.
Offer a program of economic and social policies that address Americans’ anxieties and offer hope of a viable present and a better future, with meaningful work.
Develop a long-term strategy for civic education.
Find effective ways to counter fake news and authoritarian manipulation of social media.
Compel international and global consequences for aspiring autocrats who perceive no harmful international consequences for assaults on civil liberties, judicial independence, electoral fairness, and other key pillars of liberal democracy.
Repeat steps 1 to 11, ever more vigorously.
Dive deeper on each step here…
BigTentUSA continues to provide our community the opportunity to learn how to stop the spread of authoritarianism and preserve democracy. We are thrilled to announce that on Wednesday, June 21st at 7:00pm ET, we will welcome Professor Diamond as our esteemed Spotlight Speaker. We look forward to hearing about his insights and expertise. Anne Wedner will moderate the conversation, making it an engaging and informative session. This event promises to offer valuable guidance as we move forward into 2024. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to participate in our Q&A session as well.
“Freedom is worth fighting for and democracy, with all its faults, remains the best form of government.” Larry Diamond