Editor’s Message

We are and have been facing the threat of authoritarianism for many years.

Authoritarianism is characterized by highly concentrated and centralized government power maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential challengers. It uses political parties and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime.

What are the characteristic traits of authoritarianism?

1. A weak judiciary, subservient to the despotic leader.

2. A strong military, police, and secret police, subservient to the despotic leader.

3. A weak legislature, subservient to the party of the despotic leader.

4. A personality cult about the leader – support from a large group of people willing to do things like overrunning the Capitol and attacking the Constitutional system for their own goals.

5. Control of the media.

6. A disregard of the legal system, laws, and civic norms.

Sound familiar? The country is rushing to an authoritarian state at a high rate of speed.

What next? Take the guns, force vaccines with threat of no travel, inhibit learning? That would never happen in this country (said with sarcasm).

Yet we are witnessing this dynamic almost every day now.

Over the past decade, illiberal powers have become emboldened and gained influence within the global arena. Leading authoritarian countries—including China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—have developed new tools and strategies to contain the spread of democracy and challenge the liberal international political order.

Meanwhile, the advanced democracies have retreated, failing to respond to the threat posed by the authoritarians and even gravitated to their own form of authoritarianism.

We are there. Rushing to Armageddon just like all other dictatorships did at one time out of fear and over-reliance on an ineffective government. If you can’t govern – just suppress and rule.

Authoritarians often repress on a vast scale and inhibit insurgent organization, transfer populations, have excellent intelligence penetration, and can counter war weariness in ways not available to democracies.

Just write an EO, pass improper legislation, tax the people to death and spread fear among the population.

While the politicized command structure often produces poor officers and discourages initiative.

As undemocratic regimes become more assertive, they are working together to repress civil society while tightening their grip on cyberspace and expanding their reach in international media.

These political changes have fostered the emergence of new counter norms—such as the authoritarian subversion of credible election monitoring. Or declare a credible system illicit and claim voter fraud at every step and refuse to accept election results.

The Constitution was written and accepted as our new country was formed. Benjamin Franklin stated, “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”

Stalin had his own thoughts about people and freedom.

Death solves all problems – no man, no problem. –Joseph Stalin.