Global freedom faces a dire threat. Authoritarian regimes are accelerating their attacks on the norms and institutions that support basic liberties, threatening the future of democracy itself. And in long-established democracies, internal forces are exploiting weaknesses to promote hatred, violence, and unbridled power.
In a healthy democracy, opposition parties and independent media alert the public when their government is committing abuses. But when these outlets are silenced, it can create a dangerous vacuum where autocrats can fill in the blanks. The global trend toward autocracy can be reversed by making the fight against these threats central to democratic reforms, foreign policy, and national security strategy.
The global assault on democracy must be countered with a resolute and consistent response, led by the world’s most respected leaders and a robust, engaged citizenry. This defense requires an understanding that, from the politicization of law enforcement to the attack on judicial independence, no nation is immune to creeping authoritarianism.
Authoritarian playbook
Autocrats employ a set of tactics to seize power and maintain control, including divide-and-rule strategies (fomenting mistrust in the population through false grievances, for instance) and the use of disinformation to delegitimize critics and undermine public belief in truth. They also quietly use legal or pseudo-legal rationales to gut institutions and weaken dissent, and they use “national emergencies” as smokescreens for slashing civil liberties and expanding coercive measures. They often stoke outbursts of politically-useful violence, to both further fuel fears of insecurity and inspire supporters.
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