Anne Applebaum and Garry Kasparov on Authoritarianism and the 2026 US Election

The Putinization of America

• 💡 Modern censorship operates through government pressure on private companies, a tactic seen in Russia and now emerging in the US, exemplified by the Jimmy Kimmel incident.
• 🧠 The Putinization of America is a concern, as traditions and legal loopholes are exploited, making the Constitution vulnerable despite its design for checks and balances.
• ⚠️ Donald Trump is described as a genius of normalization, gradually shifting what is considered acceptable political behavior, similar to tactics seen in other countries.

Threats to Democratic Institutions

• 🏛️ The Constitution is not ironclad and requires active engagement to defend; it offers opportunities for fortification but can be circumvented.
• ⚖️ The takeover of courts is a common strategy for aspiring autocrats, as seen in Poland and Hungary, where judicial systems are manipulated to serve political ends.
• 🗳️ The 2026 US elections are framed as a critical battlefield, with concerns about manipulating elections through tactics like gerrymandering and influencing voter rolls to create an unlevel playing field.

Global Authoritarian Trends

• 🌍 The competition between autocratic and democratic ideas is now an internal struggle within countries, not a geopolitical divide, making it harder to foster national unity.
• 🌐 A global realignment is occurring, with the US perceived as a warning signal by some allies, while authoritarian networks, led by China, are strengthening.
• 🚩 The rise of figures like Nigel Farage, Le Pen, and the AfD in Germany indicates a global phenomenon of Trumpism that must be confronted domestically to have a chance of success abroad.

Citizen Engagement and Resistance

• ✊ Ordinary citizens can fight pessimism by actively engaging in the political process through various means like demonstrating, joining organizations, or contributing to causes.
• 🛠️ Lawyers can work pro bono, teachers can educate about the political system, and individuals can join political parties or organizations to make a difference.
• 🇺🇸 Unlike Russia in 2000, the US has stronger traditions of democracy and more options for citizens to resist authoritarian creep, but this requires recognizing the fight and being engaged.