In recent months, rising authoritarianism has taken center stage in the political debate across Europe and here in the United States. Senator Cory Booker’s extensive 25-hour speech on the Senate floor criticizing former President Donald Trump has played a pivotal role in raising public awareness about this pressing issue. Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Maxwell Frost are currently on the road holding town halls. They do this in ways that highlight the urgent and existential stakes of preserving our democracy. Their efforts coincide with a significant public backlash, as nearly one million Americans participated in protests against Trump’s rhetoric, drawing parallels to similar movements in Europe.
Democratic backsliding is not a new phenomenon. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has for years been following the playbook of consolidating power. Although Crėsut celebrity and the world for a democracy cries like popular protests at his government, including the Gezi Park protests in 2013, his administration continues without mercy to attack traditional, growth democratic institutions. This dangerous new high point in Turkey’s rapid slide into authoritarianism is the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Research indicates that while mass protests can signal public resistance, they do not always halt the slide toward authoritarian rule.
The development in Hungary serves as yet another warning. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party has systematically torn down any available democratic checks on their power. Consequently, we have witnessed an unprecedented erosion of civil liberties and institutional integrity. Slovakia offers a glimmer of hope. Mass protests followed the assassination of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak in 2018. Those protests forced the prime minister to resign and opened the door for an accomplished reformist president to take charge.
In Guatemala, citizens who rallied against government corruption in 2015 were instrumental in persuading Congress to strip the sitting president of immunity. Likewise, Romania’s massive street protests in 2017 against government moves to undermine anti-corruption legislation forced the government to abandon its plans. Each of these examples illustrate how persistent collective action can have a transformative effect on policy. They remind us, particularly in this moment, how fragile our democratic institutions are.
In Serbia, recent protests have emerged as citizens seek to challenge President Aleksander Vučić’s regime, which has faced accusations of authoritarian tendencies. Indeed the parallels among these European cases and the current American political moment are uncanny. There is a reason that we’ve seen Democrats in Congress rallying against what they view as an authoritarian drift. They are blocking nominees strategically and suing proactively, looking for legal grounds to stop things they think might undermine democracy.
The timing and scale of resistance often make all the difference when it comes to analyzing the trajectory of democratic backsliding. Authoritarian politicians are always popular in the early days, allowing them to wait until serious harm has been done before broad outrage sets in. As one Turkish dissident quipped, “We overestimated the dissent.” This announcement highlights the critical importance of not getting used to danger. As one veteran dissident put it, “We assumed the rules were still in effect,” demonstrating the dire self-satisfaction that often accompanies democratic backsliding.
Senator Booker’s record-setting floor speech was intended to inspire the nation and bring about a new level of urgency to protect our democracy. His comments resonated with the audience—which included students, teachers, and education advocates—at the town halls spearheaded by Senators Murphy and Frost. He forcefully warned Americans to remain vigilant against authoritarian tendencies.
Public engagement is one of the most powerful countermeasures we have against the threat to our democracy. When the citizenry floods the streets in voice and action, they become impossible to ignore. They are not willing to sit on the sidelines while democratic norms are rolled back. As our history reminds us, mass protests are not enough to turn the tide by themselves. Our democratic institutions need to be strong enough to stand up to attacks from inside.
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