Column | In the age of Trump, global authoritarianism continues its advance

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

79% : Donald Trump wants to reckon with a world shaped only by great powers and their supplicants, and to behave like the greatest power of them all.
51% : But back in the White House, Trump could "reduce the independence of institutions ... that have traditionally protected the rule of law, ensured transparency, and served as beneficial checks on presidential discretion," the organization noted in its report.
51% : "Competitive authoritarianism will transform political life in the United States," they write in Foreign Affairs.
48% : That's not because of Trump's ascension, the repeated displays of his strongman instincts, disregard for liberal institutions and avowed nationalism, but because of the broader context in which Trumpism has seemingly thrived.
48% : Political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way suggest that the United States, in Trump's second term, if it continues along the well-established path it has already begun to tread, "will cease to meet standard criteria for liberal democracy" -- arguing that apparent efforts to restrict voting rights, cow or shut out mainstream media and purge state institutions of nonpartisan bureaucrats are all precursors to a turn toward a regime of electoral autocracy seen in countries such as Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
36% : "As Trump's early flurry of dubiously constitutional executive orders made clear, the cost of public opposition will rise considerably: Democratic Party donors may be targeted by the IRS; businesses that fund civil rights groups may face heightened tax and legal scrutiny or find their ventures stymied by regulators.
27% : " Freedom House acknowledged the threats of violence and real violence -- chiefly, the assassination attempts on Trump -- that preceded the U.S. election.

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