Global Lessons Teach Us to Protect Others to Save Democracy

A robust civil society is “the bedrock of countering rising tide of authoritarianism" and part of that is protecting others with solidarity mechanisms, moral clarity and nonpartisan issues.

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If we zoom out globally to look at the Trump attacks on universities, media outlets and those who speak out, we see that a robust civil society is “the bedrock of countering rising tide of authoritarianism.”1

Another way of looking at this is the idea that protecting others is one important tenet of supporting a democracy that’s under attack by authoritarians.

The Columbia SIPA panel “IGP Rapid Response: Governmental Attacks on Civil Society—Lessons for the US from Around the Globe” suggested strategies for fighting rising authoritarianism, some of which everyone can participate in. Below I’ve summarized them based on the hour long discussion, which is embedded below.

“Few topics are more urgent here at Columbia and SIPA than this one, a robust civil society is one of the bedrocks to countering the rising tide of authoritarianism,” moderator Professor Alex Hertel Fernandez, who is an expert in democratic resilience, said.

“And scholars of democracies are raising warning signs, real warning signs, civil society is under attack from those seeking to weaken democratic institutions in many parts of the world, including here in the United States, and drawing historical and comparative insights from Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, our panel today will identify the risks facing the United States and will spotlight key lessons for how to preserve democratic norms and civil institutions, including universities, media outlets and community organizations.”

What can we do?

Protect Others with Solidarity Mechanisms

Protecting others helps democracy and fends off rising authoritarianism, which relies in part on people not objecting until it hurts them specifically. This is one area where Trump’s approach differs from other modern authoritarians, which is both a weakness in his approach because it’s identifiable to different groups but also troubling given the swiftness with which he’s acting, especially given that he has no mandate, and his approval ratings are historically disastrous. Trump’s approval rating dipped again, with “many wary of his wielding of power,” a Reuters/Ipsos poll reported on April 22 found.

Indeed. And about resistance to that:

1. Building Broader Coalitions

- Creates networks of mutual support

- Prevents divide-and-conquer tactics

- Expands resistance beyond individual groups

2. Preventing Normalization of Discrimination

- When one group is attacked, all groups recognize threat

- Demonstrates interconnectedness of democratic rights

- Stops incremental erosion of rights

3. Creating Shared Narrative

- Shows democratic values transcend individual identities

- Builds trust across different community groups

- Demonstrates collective commitment to rights

4. Expanding Resistance Base

- Marginalized groups often first to recognize authoritarian threats

- Protecting vulnerable communities creates broader awareness

- Builds multi-constituency resistance

5. Moral Clarity

- Demonstrates commitment to universal principles

This last one is a really important piece of resistance fabric, and one that the left has all but ceded to the right for decades. This is a chance to grab the mantle of moral authority from the anti-freedom party and try to move this country to saner political ground that is not based in hatred and destruction.

The importance of arguments based on moral authority cannot be overstated. Moral authority in the face of stripping people of due process, for example, is a necessary and it is also an easy point to grasp for all but the most diehard cultists.

Authoritarianism is Built On Betrayal and Moral Deregulation