I. The Erosion at Home and Abroad
The story of America’s weakening democracy is still being defined by an aggressive expansion of executive power. According to analysts, when Washington backs away from supporting democracy and human rights globally, it sends a clear signal to authoritarian leaders that there’s little cost for repression. Strongmen around the world are getting the message. See The Straits Times, Council on Foreign Relations and Ash Center
That same playbook is being used at home: concentrate power in the executive branch, sideline any independent checks on that power, and use the law as a tool to reward loyalty, not as a constraint on the powerful. This week brought a few stark examples:
- Firings at the Justice Department: The firing of the antitrust chief and the ousting of a U.S. attorney in New York, just hours after he was selected by judges, are clear moves to tighten political control over who gets investigated and who gets a pass.
- Intelligence as a political weapon: Ordering intelligence agencies to hand over sensitive material to a lawyer from the “Stop the Steal” movement erases the line between national security and the president’s personal political defense.
- Hollowing out regulatory agencies: A major blow to the EPA’s power to regulate climate pollution is another step in weakening independent regulators and handing control over environmental policy to the White House and its industry allies.
These aren’t random events. They’re the domestic symptoms of the same consolidation of power that international watchdogs have been flagging as a key driver of democratic decline.
The Assault on the Free Press Intensifies
Experts on media and democracy are calling this a “frontal assault on the free press”—not just in its rhetoric, but as a deliberate strategy. By constantly hammering on “fake news,” personally attacking reporters, and elevating partisan media as the only source of “truth,” the administration is trying to systematically delegitimize independent journalism. See The Conversation and Protect Democracy
It’s a classic move from the authoritarian playbook. Over time, this constant drumbeat erodes public trust in all media. When people are taught to distrust every independent source, they become more vulnerable to disinformation and more reliant on what the government tells them.
This week’s events fit that pattern perfectly. The DOJ monitoring which members of Congress were searching the Epstein files sends a chilling message to anyone trying to conduct oversight. Meanwhile, the push to overturn Steve Bannon’s contempt of court conviction, while critics are aggressively prosecuted, reinforces the idea of a two-tiered justice system. Friends are protected; investigators and dissenters are treated as threats.
Public Trust is Hanging by a Thread
Once people start to believe their institutions are rigged or that laws are applied selectively, trust collapses. It’s incredibly difficult to rebuild. Every politicized prosecution, every norm-shattering purge, deepens the feeling that the system is broken and that ordinary citizens are just spectators. That cynicism isn’t just a side effect; it’s a weapon. If people stop believing their institutions can work, they’re far less likely to stand up and defend them when they come under attack. See JSTOR and Oxford Academic
II. The Pushback: Signs of Democratic Resilience
A growing body of research is creating a roadmap for resistance. The new Brookings “Democracy Playbook” lays out seven key pillars of a resilient democracy:
- Free and fair elections
- Rule of law and independent courts
- Checks and balances
- A free press and access to information
- Civic participation and mobilization
- Protection of minority rights
- Accountable, transparent governance
See Brookings and thecprhub.org
Studies of other countries show that when these pillars are defended early and forcefully, by courts, citizen groups, and cross-party coalitions, democratic decline can be slowed, or even reversed. See bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com, Ash Center and Cambridge University Press
Courts and the Law as a Shield
This week, we saw some of these pillars, especially the rule of law, being put to the test.
- A judge steps in: In a textbook assertion of judicial independence, Judge Richard Leon blocked the Defense Secretary’s attempt to demote Senator Mark Kelly as punishment for criticizing the administration.
- Limits on political prosecutions: For now, the Justice Department has failed in its efforts to indict Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, showing that the legal process hasn’t been completely weaponized yet.
These are the critical moments that researchers point to – when institutions either buckle under pressure or push back.
Citizens and Officials Start to Mobilize
The resistance is also gathering force outside the courtroom. It’s a slow-moving but growing web of disruption.
- From the inside: Some Republicans in Congress are starting to resist the administration’s most extreme moves, particularly when their own institution’s power is on the line. At the state level, officials and judges are blocking or delaying federal actions. In New York, for instance, a judge extended a block on cuts to social service funds in Democratic-led states, a clear example of federalism acting as a buffer.
- From the outside: Civil rights groups and citizens are mobilizing to protect voting rights. When Rep. Jason Smith suggested stationing ICE agents at polling places, these groups immediately called it out as a tactic for voter suppression, especially in immigrant communities.
This kind of civic pushback, even if it seems scattered, can become a powerful check on authoritarian drift when it starts to build and connect across different issues.
Our Built-in Buffers Still Matter
A recent POLITICO essay argues that, despite the very real dangers, the U.S. has structural features, like federalism, decentralized elections, and a historically strong civil society, that make it more resilient than many fear. These aren’t guarantees, but they are meaningful buffers, especially when combined with the kind of pushback we’re starting to see this week.
III. The Pattern to Watch
When you step back, the pattern is clear. On one side, you have an administration working to tighten its grip on law enforcement, intelligence, and regulatory power; punishing critics, rewarding allies, and gutting independent oversight. These are the classic pathways of democratic backsliding seen in studies of other nations.
On the other side, you have courts, state governments, citizen groups, and a slowly awakening political opposition starting to push back. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they only manage to delay the damage, but they are mirroring the resistance that has helped other countries pull back from the brink.
The story this week isn’t just that our democratic norms are increasingly under attack. It’s that the very pillars of a healthy democracy are being fought over in real time: in our courtrooms, our government agencies, our statehouses, and on our streets.
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