Let us discuss authoritarian regimes such as Russia and Iran the impacts on their societies as well as democracies near them. It is important for those in democratic societies to not take democracy for granted as it is easy for it to backslide into repression.
We stand against those types of governments and advocate strongly against them no matter what few benefits they may bring.
If this feels like a place for you then we welcome you with open arms and look forward to your contribution.
Hey, I was going to respond here but my piece went on for longer than I expected. I adapted my words from a previous Discord conversation I had to make a post right in this category. Here’s the link: The misportrayal of the Iranian people by the Islamic Republic regime
You are in the absolute right to call out the fragility of democracy, especially from the position of those of us in the fortunate position to live in one. I have often thought people living in democratic societies don’t take democracy merely for granted, but they, critically, underestimate how quickly passivity can erode it.
Iran is a painful case in point of the effects of authoritarianism to a society. It isn’t just the authoritarianism which strikes me though, but how deeply trust breaks down and people have to adapt to survive than to express themselves both politically and socially — they’re effectively forced underground if they ever want to have fun. Even if the Islamic regime falls soon (hopefully) and Iran finally entertains a democracy, the effects on Iranian culture of languishing under a totalitarian regime like that of the mullahs is likely to linger.
It is not just about these regimes in isolation though.
How do democracies neighboring authoritarian regimes response to the pressure of the latter?
Are there any forms of “soft authoritarianism” in actual democracies that we overlook because structures remain relatively intact? (I’m thinking stuff like Trumpism.)
And what are the best examples of countries that have meaningfully reversed the effects of authoritarianism on the nation’s civic culture?
I am grateful you opened this door.
I was thinking more about Hungary and Turkey backsliding. I understand the fears about Trump and his attempts to not only stay in power when he lost fair and square but also flirting with the idea of staying for a third term.
However his attempts to remove or bypass the constitution of two terms will fail just like his failure to stay in power. He will leave office when his term ends whether he likes it or not.
This unfortunately does not apply to prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán or president of Turkey Erdoğan because as far as I know they have even less checks to their powers and no term limits. Well for Turkey his term limits have been reset which is a common thing for authoritarian regimes such as Russia. I worry deeply for those two nations as they get dragged down more and more towards authoritarianism.
In short I see those two nations as soft authoritarian as while their elections do matter, the checks are weaker compared to U.S checks.
I at the moment cannot think of a nation currently which has reversed their backsliding besides MAYBE Poland, so it would be interesting to learn about them.