this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2026
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Sweden’s V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too, says writer Martin Gelin

👉 Remark: The article is about the U.S. and Europe, despite the title.

top 17 comments
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[–] jtrek@startrek.website 6 points 20 minutes ago

We know. The problem is a lot of idiots want trump as a dictator.

[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 63 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Being outside and soaking wet, I can now say, with caution and reservation, that the transparent liquid falling from the sky, MAY be rain... thanks

[–] apftwb@lemmy.world 10 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

But what is this "rain" composed of? Water? I don't think so. Let's ask the National Weather Service.

The number you have dialed has been disconnected

[–] NaibofTabr 9 points 2 hours ago

I mean... it might NOT be rain... was it yellow at all?

[–] DandomRude@piefed.social 25 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, I think so too. It’s pretty obvious, after all: ICE has a budget equivalent to the military spending of a medium-sized country. By U.S. standards: This “agency” has a larger budget than all other U.S. federal agencies combined - that is, the FBI, CIA, etc.

ICE was founded after 9/11 by Bush Jr. At that time, its purpose was essentially to enforce the conservatives’ absurd immigration policies outside the democratic decision-making process.

Today, it is clearly a secret police force that is exclusively loyal to the regime. Of course, this is once again about the self-enrichment of unscrupulous MAGA people, but I think it’s still pretty obvious that the main goal is to field a force that, if necessary, can crush resistance from the military - possibly also from the police, though I don’t think resistance from that side is very likely.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 8 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (2 children)

It's insane to me that over the past few decades we allowed the state to construct an entirely parallel national police and judicial system subject to total executive authority, and that very few people objected to this in any major way until 2025.

I mean the underpinnings of this system, even before it was dramatically expanded and abused by Trump seem so blatantly unconstitutional it's shocking. How can you have a separate judicial system for certain classes of people nested within the executive branch? Is that not a clear violation of separation of powers? How can we arrest and forcibly imprison or deport people without warrants? What happened to the 4th amendment? What the fuck were people thinking? Was it not obvious where this would lead?

For myself, I can only plead ignorance. I really did not investigate how our immigration system worked until I had cause to, and now that I've become educated I'm just incredulous that our elected leaders and judges created such a blatantly authoritarian system. And that no one who knew about it seemed to care for so long. Or at least no one with any power or influence.

[–] DandomRude@piefed.social 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I can’t tell you exactly how that was possible, or why U.S. citizens allowed it to happen, but I think one of the main reasons is likely the U.S. Constitution itself: It is old and was originally designed for a nation that included slave-holding states. Added to this is the fact that it was a constitution conceived exclusively by very wealthy landowners. Of course, this was the standard worldwide at the time, but since this constitution remains by far the hardest to amend of all democratic nations, it was never fundamentally revised - which is, of course, absolutely absurd even for countries with a comparable system.

One consequence of this is that the current administration won the last presidential election by about two million fewer votes. And that’s just scratching the surface: there are numerous reforms that have been blocked for decades by a minority of ultra-conservative states, since there is no proper mechanism that would be based on the population of these states. There is also no democratic country in the world in which constitutional court justices are appointed for life.

What I mean to say is this: The almost religious belief in the effectiveness of their Constitution is, in my opinion, the main reason why U.S. democracy cannot survive - at least not without far-reaching reforms that are not even remotely realistic with either of the two major parties.

The only option at this point, in my view, would be a general strike that paralyzes the country until it simply forces through the reforms that have been overdue for more than 100 years. In my view, there is no other option within this system.

In that sense, American citizens could actually bring about something fundamentally good out of the reign of terror imposed by their orange despot - it would be a blessing for the country and for the world. Unfortunately, I just don’t think that will actually happen.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

The main problem being that most Americans are one paycheck away from starving.

[–] DandomRude@piefed.social 0 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Yes, that is the consequence, and it will remain that way as long as US citizens do nothing to change it. It will remain a self-fulfilling prophecy until the curse is broken. It won’t happen on its own; instead, things will only get worse if people don’t take their fate into their own hands. There are plenty of examples that prove this is possible - and all of these are examples where much more was at stake than just a job.

Please don't get me wrong: It's difficult on your own, but there's strength in numbers. That may sound like a pipe dream, but it's the only hope for a better life.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes ago (1 children)

Again, there's no support structure, so even striking in unison means that most people end up with nothing almost immediately.

[–] DandomRude@piefed.social 1 points 22 minutes ago* (last edited 17 minutes ago)

Try explaining that to the people in Iran who rose up against the regime, were shot by the hundreds, and are now being bombed by the U.S.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

We objected to it. We also quickly realized that it never ends as a democracy, and a republic in name only.

[–] Kirk@startrek.website 4 points 2 hours ago

This was pretty clear in 2016, glaringly obvious in 2021, and Trump himself explicitly said being a dictator on day one was a goal in 2024.

But I'm sure another think piece won't hurt!

[–] HowRu68@lemmy.world 12 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

👉 Remark

You are giving us the finger?!/j

Good remark though. This autocratisation proces is a global phenomena unfortunately.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 13 points 3 hours ago

Trump is a current threat to the world. He's also a warning to everyone, yours could go this route next. Don't let it.

[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 1 points 1 hour ago

He also might settle for a Kingdom.

[–] RaoulDuke85@piefed.social 1 points 2 hours ago

Breaking new, water is wet.