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Traditionally, democracies died in dramatic and violent ways. Military coups, armed insurrections, and sudden overthrows were the primary mechanisms of democratic collapse. During the 20th century, particularly in the Cold War era, military coups were responsible for the majority of democratic breakdowns. Countries like Chile, Argentina, and Greece saw their democracies dismantled by generals who seized power through force.
The 1973 coup in Chile is a stark example. President Salvador Allende, a democratically elected leader, was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. The bombing of La Moneda palace and Allende's death marked the end of Chilean democracy. Similar stories unfolded in Brazil, Nigeria, and Thailand, where military power crushed democratic institutions.
But this is no longer the primary way democracies die. While military coups still occur, they are increasingly rare. Instead,
democracies today face a more subtle and insidious threat-one that comes not from the barrel of a gun but from within the system itself.
The story of US history democracy is not one of steady progress, but of power struggles, broken promises, and systemic rot. From its founding contradictions to today's crisis, US political history reveals an American democracy that has always been for sale-to the highest bidder.
Now, in an era where Trump and democracy collide, the cracks are undeniable. The warnings of How Nations Fail and Why Democracies Die echo louder than ever. Authoritarianism isn't some foreign threat-it's homegrown, creeping in under the guise of populism and partisan warfare. The history of democracies shows they don't collapse overnight; they're hollowed out from within.
Jason Stanley's How Fascism Works and Democracy Awakening lay bare the playbook: demonize opponents, undermine truth, and dismantle institutions. Why democracies fail isn't a mystery-it's a choice. And in today's US politics, that choice is being made daily. The current political landscape isn't just polarized-it's a democratic failure, where political corruption in America is the norm, not the exception.
Is there a conspiracy to end democracy? Maybe not a single plot, but a thousand cuts-gerrymandering, voter suppression, media manipulation. Why politics fails is no secret: when elites rule, the people lose. Why Nations Fail warned us; now we're watching it unfold. The death of democracy isn't a foreign spectacle-it's happening here, with fascism in America wearing a suit, not a uniform.
The American oligarchs have won. The battle between democracy vs autocracy is no longer theoretical-it's here. American political science failed to stop it. So what now? An awakening democracy-or a slide into something darker? The choice is still ours. But time is running out.
