Notices by Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)

Ich habe über die Gefahren – und die Grenzen – einer autoritären Eskalation geschrieben.

Trumps Versuche, die Kongresswahlen zu manipulieren, sind bislang gescheitert. Wie geht es nun weiter? Was tun autoritäre Regierungen, wenn sie kurz davor stehen, Wahlen zu verlieren?

Mein neuer Essay, auf Deutsch:

https://steady.page/de/demokratie-americana/posts/fc1bbed7-ccdf-4f47-bd78-6081cfbac0d3

Dies ist Teil I einer zweiteiligen Bestandsaufnahme der Situation in den USA knapp einen Monat vor den Zwischenwahlen. Es ist mein Versuch, die dringlichsten Fragen zu beantworten und über das Verhältnis zwischen autoritärer Eskalation und demokratischer Resilienz zu reflektieren.

If you are currently experiencing a somewhat ambivalent feeling, deeply concerned about what may yet unfold, but encouraged by what has transpired over the past few weeks, I believe you are in the right spot.

This is my attempt to establish a framework for how to think about and conceptualize the dangers that lie ahead, something that can help us absorb and process the information and the noise as we are nearing this inflection point in the struggle against rightwing authoritarianism.

The fact that the president of the United States and his party are engaged in a full-on assault on the constitutional order, that they will obviously continue to search for ways to subvert the election process, is a reminder of how far away from a stable democracy America currently is.

The MAGA government’s major schemes to subvert the election have so far failed.

That certainly doesn’t mean all is well. There is certainly no reason to relax. The situation remains volatile, the outcome of the political struggle undetermined.

What Do Authoritarians Do When They Are About to Lose an Election?

Trump’s schemes to subvert the midterms have so far failed. What happens next? A reflection on the threat as well as the limits of authoritarian escalation.

My new piece:

https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/d9a4df24-9b8d-4dd8-bb13-73fc07e56c5f

A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy

MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism.

Some thoughts from my new piece:

🧵

https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/3a16237c-484a-4d5e-8f15-2ea94fd8f4d2

Had a great conversation with Perry Bacon about the German far right, its relationship to MAGA, the global struggle against authoritarian rightwing ethno-nationalism - and the question of how to best counter it.

https://substack.com/@thomaszimmer/note/p-215046346?r=2xrrs&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Sunday reading - on a day that could mark a caesura in German post-war history:

Warnings and Lessons from the Struggle Against Trumpism

In the fight against the far-right AfD, Germany must avoid the mistakes that have sabotaged the democratic response to rightwing extremism in the United States.

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https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/01654b70-1319-4395-8191-0c6da2ae195b

I am taking down the paywall for this one, as I believe it remains relevant as a potential antidote to cynicism and declinism.

The glass is half-full. Or at least this is my attempt to argue it might be. We are confronted with a world-historic chance.

The German version of this week’s piece:

https://steady.page/de/demokratie-americana/posts/3ca0c464-1c7a-4af5-b7eb-e393101bc6d4

Please help me build a readership large enough to carry this experiment of offering my work in two languages simultaneously.

You can subscribe tonight the German version of Democracy Americana here:

https://steady.page/de/demokratie-americana/posts

We find ourselves in a situation that is immensely dangerous. But the radicalization of the Right has not been fueled by a sense of strength. It is driven by a pervasive sense of weakness.

Because reality has indeed been moving away from those who refuse to accept pluralism.

The German version of my latest essay is out - a glass-half-full interpretation of our moment:

The Right is freaking out because they know we could be on the brink of proving that egalitarian, pluralistic democracy is possible.

We are facing a world-historic chance:

https://steady.page/de/demokratie-americana/posts/3ca0c464-1c7a-4af5-b7eb-e393101bc6d4

It’s obvious that the country is deeply divided – but it is not a 50:50 split.

Today, America is much more adequately described as a two-thirds/one-third nation, with the larger share of the population firmly in the camp of pluralism.

I sort through the latest survey data to figure out what kind of society most Americans really want.

The contrast between “real Americans” as they exist in the feverish minds of the Trumpists and the majority of people who call this country home is so stark.

The anti-democratic radicalization of the Right has not been fueled by a sense of strength, but by a pervasive sense of weakness. They are feeling their backs against the wall. And they are reacting to something real: Our “Western” societies have indeed become more pluralistic.

After a talk I gave last week, I was challenged by someone in the audience to offer something hopeful, something to carry us all forward. And here it is: Building on the latest survey data about what kind of society Americans really want, I make my case for (cautious) optimism.

A World-Historic Chance

The Right is freaking out because we could be on the brink of proving that egalitarian, pluralistic democracy is possible.

My new piece - a glass-half-full interpretation of our moment:

https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/812a42b1-dc13-4e26-b659-736ce7c146b9

Rightwingers claim that “the Left” elevated Juneteenth to the status of a national holiday purely as an “anti-American humiliation ritual,” all part of a larger leftwing agenda to take complete control of the country.