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A coup with tanks rolling on the street? Or was it a civil war that broke out with soldiers and guerrillas fighting for political power?
When thinking of a country where democratic institutions and norms are in danger, this scenario may come to mind. But a better representative may be the work currently being done in the United States.
There, it is not military generals who plan conspiracies against elected officials, but politicians who seek to amend the law to restrict voting rights.
From Florida to Iowa, state legislatures controlled by Republicans have passed bills restricting mail voting and in-person voting.
Completely legal but partisan election audits conducted in Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania also found the decline of the Democratic Party. According to the political right who led these efforts, it is necessary to verify the results of the 2020 elections.
Really, this is not to verify anything, but to question the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency. Let us be clear-we are still waiting for substantive evidence that the Democratic Party has fixed the 2020 election in any way so that Biden can become president.
More importantly-this is how democracy dies, through these coordinated efforts to shape the American political system to support a political party.
This dynamic is taking place in places that should have become a bastion of democracy, as anti-democratic forces are gradually eroding institutions that uphold the rule of law and norms of tolerance.
Nearly 25 years ago, Fareed Zakaria popularized the concept of “non-liberal democracy” when talking about developments in Russia, Venezuela, and certain countries in Eastern Europe.
His idea is that in these countries, most people have participated in the elections, but the constitution’s protection of the rule of law and individual rights is very weak.
In such an environment, the elites have shaped the preferences of the people, inspiring people with racist or ultra-nationalist sentiments to reject certain groups. Then, the leaders of these countries will persecute dissidents with the support of the masses because they put themselves and their parties above the rule of law.
Although similar, the non-liberal democracy in the United States is showing additional characteristics.
First, it is not clear that the elites are pushing for the abolition of the democratic system. Indeed, former President Trump and his unfounded claim that the 2020 election was stolen by the Democratic Party.
If we are only talking about elections, then this narrative might make sense. After all, voting is a single event that does not require much effort. But no, the destruction of democracy is much deeper and much longer.
Just look at the uprising that took place at the Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6. In that event, thousands of people mobilized from all over the country, who believed that the 2020 election was illegal.
Was the uprising a strange incident? Shout out crazy fringe elements from the corner of American political life?
No, at least not.
According to a CNN poll conducted in the first week of September this year, the vast majority of Republican voters (61%) still support Trump, and 59% believe that the election was stolen from him.
It’s not just Trump.
Larry Elder apparently lost the election campaign to remove Democrat Gavin Newsom, claiming that voter fraud occurred even before the vote was counted.
We must also remember that voter fraud has been a red herring of political rights for many years. Nearly 10 years ago, the right-wing presidential candidate and supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul were organizing to hinder the registration of the day.
Note that the possibility of discovering actual cases of voter fraud is like being struck by lightning. Multiple studies conducted by multiple newspapers and non-profit organizations have found that since 2000, there have been dozens of real voter fraud incidents.
Over the years, there have also been partisan efforts across the country. This is actually an example of politicians choosing voters rather than the other way around.
However, insisting on this fact fails to grasp the point.
What is really expressed is the desire for power, not only Trump and his supporters, but also others who have been looking for no voter fraud cases for years, or others who have worked hard to create electoral districts for the benefit of the party.
Power is not necessarily a bad thing; the problem is when organized actors see their political parties and priorities as providing principles that the state should abide by. From the anti-abortion rights stance to tax cuts, the idea is to develop a lifestyle for everyone else in the country from the point of view of a group of people.
This is why as legal efforts to overturn the results of the election occur, local non-partisan officials who oversee voting will receive death threats and intimidation. The insurgents who started on January 6 felt so powerful that they were willing to take any risks for their views, including the democratic process.
This kind of legal and illegal behavior is linked by the same potential current-power.
The United States is in a dark place. There is no simple way forward or simple solution to bring people together.
The key is for people to realize that if it is only for a moment, they have become how to fall into their respective corners. Not only on the right, but also on the left, a thorough refutation of opposing views shows a lack of empathy and humility.
People don’t have to agree on everything. In fact, pushing this is part of the problem. For democracy, we need to acknowledge the differences, not try to eliminate them.
Unless people accept this simple and difficult understanding now, the dark days in the United States will only become bleak.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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