The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.

My conversation with Princeton Professor Rory Truex on the American confrontation with Venezuela: where it's coming from and where it could be headed

Will Maduro hold onto power? Why is Trump so interested in Venezeula? What are the best paths forward for the Venezuelan people? @mikealbertus.bsky.social came on The Civic Forum this week to break down all things Venezuela. Available wherever you get your pods: youtu.be/iHTnb2wO2SA

Just when I thought I couldn't admire the man more... 🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea

Last week I had @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social on The Civic Forum to talk about the state of American democracy, and the role that state politics is playing in our authoritarian turn. Particularly relevant for the unfolding situation in Texas. youtu.be/tbxCMSwJ-o4

🚨 Excited that "Making Bribery Profitable Again? The Market Effects of Suspending Accountability for Overseas Bribery" by Eddy Malesky, Lucio Picci, and me has been published in FirstView at @iojournal.bsky.social! Open Access: doi.org/10.1017/S002... 1/n

Was on Civic Forum with @rorytruex.bsky.social talking about US democracy. We talked about political inequality & minority rule in the US, with a focus on my research on the states. But then talk about what's new in the more acute democracy crisis of 2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxC...

Here's a new session of The Civic Forum with the great @debpearlstein.bsky.social on how the U.S. is "losing the law." We talk about how the courts and legal norms have changed, the implications for our democracy, and possible paths to reform. open.spotify.com/episode/4pyY...

A coalition that ranges from democratic socialists to neoconservatives, including a lot of energized liberals in between, is large and formidable. A big pro-democracy tent. A united front. Any internal disagreements can be hashed out once the authoritarian emergency is over. This really can work.

Had a great conversation with @leedrutman.bsky.social on the need for political reform in the US. Lee has been a long time proponent of proportional representation, along with other reforms like fusion voting and expanding Congress that can improve representation. open.spotify.com/episode/3DLo...

Just wanted to share this conversation with Science EIC @holdenthorp.bsky.social on the state of American science. We talked about the Trump administration and "gold standard science," how universities must do more to engage the public, and science in China. open.spotify.com/episode/64bV...

In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists when unprovoked — what would we call it? If federal agents marched down streets demanding papers — what would we say? Authoritarianism — let’s not pretend it’s something else when it happens in our American cities.

Sharing this thoughtful post from Ned Downie in The Diplomat on the importance of high-level diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and China. thediplomat.com/2025/09/a-us...

Here's 90 minutes with @adamprz.bsky.social, Sue Stokes, Steven Levitsky, and @dziblatt.bsky.social on the state of American democracy right now. It was a great honor for me to be able to convene this set of people to speak together at this moment. Please share! open.spotify.com/episode/0F8W...

Nothing to worry about, just a GOP governor saying his state has to redistrict to favor Rs before 2026 or lose money to his state www.yahoo.com/news/article... Authoritarians frequently exploit state power to make it impossible for opposition parties to compete on a level playing field

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

This is the playbook, folks. If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away. Do not be quiet in this moment.

This Thursday at noon EST I'll be joined by @adamprz.bsky.social, Sue Stokes, Steve Levitsky (stevelevitsky.bsky.social), and @dziblatt.bsky.social on a webinar to talk about the state of American democracy. Please come! Registration here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum.... Please share.

As scary as this moment is, remember that support for political violence went DOWN after the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump, not up www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... We need to make the same thing happen this time.

The ad campaign criticizing the use of masks by federal agents working in Washington, D.C. has expanded to 115 bus stops, per organizers

Tomorrow I'll be joined by @brendannyhan.bsky.social and @johncarey.bsky.social on The Civic Forum to talk about their important work at Bright Line Watch. We'll be talking about the erosion of American democracy can register for the event here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Join me tomorrow live on Crowdcast for a session with @chenoweth.bsky.social. We'll be speaking about effective opposition and where the pro-democracy movement needs to go from here. Registration link here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Come see @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social live with me tomorrow! We're going to talk about Strongmen rule and how to oppose authoritarian government. www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Just published in @goodauth.bsky.social: my piece on what I call “authoritarian backscratching” - quid-pro-quo policies between dictators - and how it helps authoritarian regimes survive. goodauthority.org/news/what-is...

Please join me tomorrow at noon for a conversation on all things Putin, Russia, and Trump with the wonderful Mark Beissinger. Sign-up link here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum...

Please join me this Thursday at noon EST for our second session of The Civic Forum. We'll have a discussion with @keeanga.bsky.social on race, Black History, and the MAGA movement. Registration link here:

The first session of The Civic Forum is today at noon EST! Link is here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum.... Come for a short lecture on democratic erosion in the U.S. Full series info here: www.thecivicforum.com

I encourage everyone to read this letter. Please then realize the president is imposing a tax on American consumers to leverage a foreign nation into making a domestic political decision that will help one of his political allies.

Thinking more and more about the unfolding human rights abuses in this country. When you dehumanize a group of people enough, you can do pretty much anything you want to them. And no one seems to care. www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/a...

A summer reading list on democratic backsliding via @rorytruex.bsky.social: rorytruex.substack.com/p/democratic... Also check out The Civic Forum (www.thecivicforum.com), "to study democracy and authoritarianism, to think about the meaning of citizenship, and to face the political moment."

There is nothing patriotic about Trump and his faction of the Republican Party. They wrap themselves in the American flag, and then proceed to do the most un-American things imaginable. More here:

This is how you normalize authoritarianism.

Would be funny if it wasn't so terrifying

This week I took a stab at categorizing the different authoritarian moves of the Trump administration. See the figure below.

So dangerous to create a personalist regime where no coherent policy is ever made and anyone who contradicts the leader is forced out. The governance of modern societies depends on planning and information flow.

ART OF THE FOLD........

Levitsky, Way, and Ziblatt: "No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines" www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o... (gift link) Key points: 1. We are now living under competitive authoritarianism. 2. We need ALL of civil society to resist the temptation of appeasement and defend democracy.

A victory for democracy

🚨New Bright Line Watch report on the state of US democracy -Democracy ratings ↓ w/experts & public, including Rs -Performance ↓ in numerous areas such as free speech/press, abuse of government powers -Faculty report academic freedom decline & self-censorship brightlinewatch.org/threats-to-d... 🧵

In our field we call this "nauseating displays of loyalty." The GOP has lost its mind.

Nothing to be scared of here in political terms. One of the least popular presidents is now even less popular than he was in his first term. People need to come out from under rocks.

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Unprecedented corruption: "The effort was, in effect, an offer of access to the White House in exchange for an investment in one of Mr. Trump’s crypto ventures." Literally taking money himself. Not campaign donations. Just pocketing it.

Compare with China, a famous photo of Uyghur internment camp detainees first published by a Xinjiang government social media account in 2017

Also Steve Kerr for President. Seriously.

How should China behave in Asia according to Chinese people? China Focus will hold an event at Princeton SPIA in DC with Rosie Levine, @rorytruex.bsky.social, & @renardsexton.bsky.social on our new Chinese public opinion poll. April 30 9-11AM. Register: us19.campaign-archive.com?e=__test_ema...

Not a single word to help the 33m small businesses in this country. Not from anyone in the administration. So many buy from China, and don't have alternatives. So many didn't have the cash to front run the tariffs and buy inventory

In Xu Zhiyong's writing, there is a notion that citizenship is a two way street. It entails the rights of democracy and the responsibility to protect it. I did some thinking this week on being a citizen in this moment. Please share if you find useful. rorytruex.substack.com/p/what-do-i-...