American Autocracy

Knowledge Is Power

UU Asheville Class, 2024

American democracy and democratic institutions are under increasing threat. At the same time, our political polarization is increasing exponentially, leaving people of goodwill anxious and alienated from one another. This work provides insight and guidance for understanding the threats and taking action.

One:

The Autocrat’s Handbook - How Modern Authoritarians Come to Power

Books:

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben Ghiat

How Democracies Die by Stephen Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

Website: The Authoritarian Playbook on Protect Democracy

https://protectdemocracy.org/work/the-authoritarian-playbook/#politicizing-independent-institutions

Key points:

Politicizing Independent Institutions

All democracies have functions that operate independently from partisan political actors, from law enforcement to central banking. Authoritarians attack and seek to capture those institutions.

Spreading Disinformation — Many politicians lie, but authoritarians propagate and amplify falsehoods deliberately and with abandon and ruthless efficiency.

Aggrandizing Executive Power — Authoritarian projects cannot succeed without the cooperation or acquiescence of legislatures, courts, and other institutions.

Quashing Dissent — Strong democracies have strong oppositions and an independent press. Authoritarians seek to silence those sources of dissent.

Scapegoating Vulnerable Communities — Many authoritarians attack vulnerable groups intentionally, sowing division and attempting to turn the many against the few.

Corrupting Elections — 21st-century authoritarians generally maintain the facade of elections while tilting the rules against their opponents, suppressing votes, and biasing or even overturning the results.

Stoking Violence — Most autocrats deliberately look the other way from political violence. Many actively inflame violence to stoke fear, division, and feelings of insecurity.

The authoritarian is understood always as a “man of the people” and also “a man above all other men” - cult of personality, actively corrupt, lies frequently to create uncertainty and reliance on the authoritarian, moves political discourse to the violent and actively dehumanizes an/some “other”

World Freedom report: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule

2: Strange Bedfellows: Trump, Christian Nationalism, and Project 2025

Essential Knowledge - Project 2025:

https://www.project2025.org/

From the Project 2025 website: "The actions of liberal politicians in Washington have created a desperate need and unique opportunity for conservatives to start undoing the damage the Left has wrought and build a better country for all Americans in 2025.

It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.

This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The project will build on four pillars that will, collectively, pave the way for an effective conservative administration: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook.

The project is the effort of a broad coalition of conservative organizations that have come together to ensure a successful administration begins in January 2025. With the right conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel to implement them, we will take back our government.**

The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is being organized by The Heritage Foundation and builds off Heritage’s longstanding “Mandate for Leadership,” which has been highly influential for presidential administrations since the Reagan era. Most recently, the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage’s “Mandate” for policy guidance, embracing nearly two-thirds of Heritage’s proposals within just one year in office.

Paul Dans, former chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the Trump administration, serves as the director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Spencer Chretien, former special assistant to the president and associate director of Presidential Personnel, serves as associate director of the project."

** Project 2025 includes a specific plan, already underway, to vet thousands of personnel for personal loyalty to Donald J. Trump, and to pre-"hire" them to replace non-partisan civil servants and government personnel.

Quick Video Overview of Project 2025: Project 2025 Educational Overview

Resources, Christian Nationalism:

The New Apostolic Reformation movement/Seven Mountains

https://carm.org/new-apostolic-reformation/what-is-the-seven-mountain-mandate-prophecy/

https://newrepublic.com/article/167499/new-apostolic-reformation-mastriano-christian

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/02/meet-the-new-apostolic-reformation-cutting-edge-of-the-christian-right/

Heritage Foundation, current iteration & Project 2025