No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines; The New York Times, May 8, 2025

  

Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way and Daniel Ziblatt

The authors are political scientists who study how democracies come to an end., The New York Times; No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines

"Americans are living under a new regime. The question now is whether we will allow it to take root.

So far, American society’s response to this authoritarian offensive has been underwhelming — alarmingly so. Civic leaders confront a difficult collective action problem. A vast majority of American politicians, chief executives, law partners, newspaper editors and university presidents prefer to live in a democracy and want to end this abuse. But as individuals confronting government threats, they have incentives to appease, rather than oppose, the Trump administration...

Chief executives, law firms, universities, media outlets and Democratic politicians, as well as more traditional Republicans, have a common interest in preserving our constitutional democracy. When organizations work together and commit to a collective defense of democratic principles, they share the costs of defiance. The government cannot attack everyone all at once. When the costs of defiance are shared, they become easier for individuals to bear...

There are signs of an awakening. Harvard has refused to acquiesce to administration demands that would undermine academic freedom, Microsoft dropped a law firm that settled with the administration and hired one that defied it, and a new law firm based in Washington, D.C., announced plans to represent those wrongfully targeted by the government. When the most influential members of civil society fight back, it provides political cover for others. It also galvanizes ordinary citizens to join the fight.

America’s slide into authoritarianism is reversible. But no one has ever defeated autocracy from the sidelines."