Uncle Sam or Big Brother: the chilling effect of authoritarianism on civil society

America is “the land of the free”: freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. A line of clay pigeons facing fire from Trump and his friends. The Trump administration has shown a clear alignment with authoritarian, if not fascist tendencies. This second administration has intensified efforts to break down key pillars of American civil society – universities, the media, law, and the arts. By using punitive measures such as financial coercion and ideological suppression the administration has created a climate of fear, where institutions and individuals find themselves having to self-censor to avoid retaliation. From the crackdowns on universities like Harvard and Columbia to the detention of international students and the threats to scientific funding, it is clear that questions must be raised surrounding the intentions of Trump and how far this administration can push before America crumbles into an authoritarian state.

Harvard University is the current battleground that Trump and his administration are fighting on. Having successfully bullied Columbia University into following their reforms – a list including disallowing students from wearing face masks when protesting (to remove anonymity) and conducting a ‘thorough review’ of the portfolio programs starting with the Middle East department – the Trump admission demanded that Harvard needed to make changes to hiring, admissions and teach practices, stating this will help fight antisemitism on campus.

In essence, the Trump administration is attempting to force universities into ideological conformity, trying to dictate whose knowledge and presence is permissible by threatening federal funding

These changes would require the university to report students to the federal government who are ‘hostile’ to American values, ensure each academic department is ‘viewpoint diverse’ and hire an external, government-approved party to audit programs and departments that most fuel antisemitic harassment. In response to Harvard refusing the administration’s demands, Trump has threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status after freezing $2 billion funding.

This interference is a symptom of the Trump administration’s agenda to dehumanise those who are ‘against’ them, looking for and branding people and institutions with an ‘anti-American’ slogan. Still, in education, this can be seen in the Department of Education’s investigation into dozens of universities citing a search for ‘anti-American’ activities whilst targeting diversity programmes. In essence, the Trump administration is attempting to force universities into ideological conformity, trying to dictate whose knowledge and presence is permissible by threatening federal funding. This is an unbelievably dangerous precedent to set for students, teachers and the American public at large.

This attack can also be seen in the media with Trump stating to a CNN reporter that the company must “hate” America when responding to a question on the deportation of a man to the El Salvador mega-prison. As a result, the Trump administration has vilified independent critical journalism as “enemies of the people”, whilst rewarding sycophantic coverage. Intrinsically, this aligns Trump with the global authoritarian playbook, where the media is only retained to portray the dictator as the “perfect” man, superior in all aspects. Noticeably, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán transformed public media into a propaganda arm, as did Mussolini and Hitler.

As of April 15, a policy was issued by the White House in which the Trump administration was to have sole control over which news organisations could cover Trump in his permanent slots for questioning, a clear attempt to take a parallel path to many alternate authoritarian leaders.

Moreover, the administration also shows hostility towards ‘woke’ science which has led to the erasure of LGBTQIA+ data from federal surveys and the dismissal of climate research. Even though a court order mandated the temporary restoration of data removed on January 29 – all web pages and documents that ‘promote gender ideology’ – it is uncertain whether the data that had been removed and restored temporarily will be permanently deleted and whether surveys taken in the future will encapsulate information on gender identity and sexual orientation. This is the only case of science being attacked, more recently, Seth Rogen was edited out of a filmed coverage of an annual science awards show. According to the Hollywood Reporter Rogen said: “Amazingly, others in this room underwrote electing a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science” adding “it’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320m and RFK Jr, very fast”– with the “others” being  Google founder Sergey Brin and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg. And yet, in the ‘full’ film on the event that the Breakthrough prize released on Youtube and on its website, these comments by Rogen were nowhere to be found.

Robert Kennedy Jr was appointed in February as the US health secretary and among his many controversies he can be found to have said that the rise in autism diagnoses was due to an “epidemic” caused by “environmental toxins”. He also stated: “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese”. In case it needs to be clarified, autism advocates and health experts have stated that the rise in diagnosis is due to the better recognition of the condition, changing diagnoses, and better screening. Health specialists have also stated that coronavirus does not target any specific ethnic group. All in all, it is a clear attempt by the Trump administration to alter science to something political and biased whilst also replacing academics with representatives from the corporate world.

Silencing dissent has dangerous long-term consequences. For one, the erosion of public trust in institutions such as universities and media outlets undermines their role as a space for critical inquiry, destroying a pillar of democracy. For another, the normalisation of repression, whether that be the punitive measures of lawsuits against professors or ICE arresting activists, sets a precedent for further repression of freedom of speech to be acted out.

The question we should ask is not whether democracy can withstand these assaults but whether the American people will act to ensure democracy will stand despite these assaults

The current tactics enacted by the Trump administration align with common conceptions of ‘authoritarian populism’. Trump’s administration has scapegoated marginalised groups, amplified executive power, undermined independent institutions, spread misinformation, and Trump himself encouraged political violence. These are all glaring signs of an authoritarian rule, and Trump’s administration has managed to flag them all.

The stakes of any authoritarian rule go further than campuses or newsrooms. If dissent is criminalised and democratic pillars begin to crumble, the US risks joining the ranks of historical and current authoritarian regimes. The question we should ask is not whether democracy can withstand these assaults but whether the American people will act to ensure democracy will stand despite these assaults. History has shown us that authoritarianism thrives on apathy, and that the antidote is the opposite: relentless, courageous engagement.