There’s a recipe for autocracy: six steps tried and tested by some of the world’s most notorious leaders. How many has Donald Trump ticked off?
- Professor of Political Science, Penn State
Once a leader compels the military to follow an illegal order, it often leads to soldiers being used to target domestic opponents.
Supreme Court justices voted 4-1 to convict former Brazilian president over a 2023 plot to overturn election.
Os líderes de golpes fracassados nem sempre enfrentam punições – e alguns dos que enfrentam recebem tratamento fora dos tribunais.
Failed coup leaders don’t always face punishment – and some who do receive treatment outside of courts.
Trump’s use of the Justice Department to target political opponents goes beyond revenge − it deters current officials from defying the president.
Donald Trump’s moves to install loyalists in US security agencies and the military echo the actions of strongmen worldwide who prioritize personal loyalty over competence and respect for the law.
Whether by shuffling agency personnel, creating new agencies, or limiting their capacity for oversight, a common tactic among power-hungry leaders is establishing control over the country’s bureaucracy.
What’s happening now in Washington, DC, is different from most presidential transitions − in volume, pace, content and breadth of the changes ordered.
There have been 46 attempted self-coups since the end of World War II – 80% have succeeded. So what went wrong for South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol?
A second Trump presidency may be a danger to democracy, but that’s more to do with the Republican Party than Trump himself, researchers of authoritarianism explain.
In recent years, Western governments have, in effect, aided the rise of personalist dictators in Russia, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Venezuela.
President Biden said that Vladimir Putin had committed war crimes, after news emerged of mass civilian murders in Bucha, Ukraine. Three stories from our archive explain what this means.
None of the available methods for holding Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable are likely to actually punish him, and they may even make new atrocities more likely.
Personalist dictators tend to shield the elites who support them from the economic pain of sanctions by pushing costs onto regular people.
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