Trump & Co.: How modern tyrants fight democracy

Mr. Böttcher, what is wrong right now that more and more large nations are falling into the hands of autocrats?
Democracy is under pressure worldwide. The “Intelligence Unit” of the British “Economist” came to the conclusion in a 2024 study that the situation is alarming. According to their “Democracy Index” with categories of 1 to 10 points, only 26 of 167 countries examined still live in a “full democracy”. Another 37.6 percent of the world’s population lives in “flawed” democracies, for example India with its nationalist Hinduism.

People in 93 countries already live in unfree, autocratic conditions – and the trend is rising. The appeal of autocracy is diverse and complex. These include the longing of many people for strong political leadership, the loss of trust in the political elite, the feeling that things are not fair in society and the belief in the constantly spread lies and fake news that become new truths through constant repetition.

What characteristics characterize modern tyrants?
The characteristics that define a tyrant have not changed throughout history. Harvard literary scholar and Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Greenblatt masterfully demonstrated in his remarkable 2018 book “The Tyrant: Shakespeare’s Study of Power for the 21st Century” that such types can strike anywhere and at any time. Using William Shakespeare’s Richard III as an example. he shows how strikingly similar the tyrants of the 15th and 21st centuries are. Greenblatt’s analysis is a warning and a booklet for those who do not want to be seduced.

Richard III and Donald Trump are characterized by the same traits: by limitless self-love, by breaking laws, by the compulsive need to feel superior. They are pathological narcissists and arrogant to the highest degree. They have a grotesque sense of entitlement and never doubt that they can do whatever they want. They expect unconditional loyalty and have no natural decency, no concept of humanity, no sense of shame.

What made freedom-loving US citizens vote for the despot Donald Trump by a large majority?
That is the question! What drives more than half of Americans, a “fascist” (quote from ex-US General Mark Milley, editor’s note), a convicted criminal, an inciter to storm the Capitol, an entrepreneur with four bankruptcies choose? The Americans probably don’t know this themselves. How low must this society have fallen and divided to do this?

An answer defies any rational, comprehensible analysis. There are a number of indications, such as concerns about social decline among the middle class, fears about the future among young people, and fear of threatening strangers; There is a mixture of fear of uncontrolled proportions. In my opinion, the last reason was the decisive factor in the voting decision: the fear of everything that is foreign is deeply rooted in the human psyche. Trump has ruthlessly converted this fear into votes.

What will happen in the USA in the next four years?
The greatest danger posed by a second Trump presidency is the revenge he has repeatedly invoked. The revenge of destroying his opponents: “We promise you that we will exterminate the communists, the Marxists, the fascists and the radical leftists who live like vermin in our country.”

In his first presidency, he still had upstanding Democrats around him. However, if you now look at the composition of his horror cabinet, you get the impression that he could succeed. The appointment of Matt Gaetz, Florida’s most right-wing Republican and conspiracy theorist, as attorney general represents the destruction of democracy (it is his oft-stated plan). Stripping this institution of its independence and making it the extension of the president marks the beginning of destruction. Gaetz will begin an attempt to transform the world’s venerable, oldest modern democracy into an autocracy. All that remains is hope that the almost 250-year-old democratic institutions will resist one of the most dangerous despots in American history.

What autocratic danger threatens democracy in Europe and Germany?
If you read Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s exuberant congratulations to Donald Trump, you have further evidence that autocracy has arrived in the middle of Europe. Autocrats of all countries unite! At the victory celebration on April 25, 2010, Orban announced to his supporters: “You cannot change an order, you can only overthrow it and establish a new one.”

Orban implemented his plan step by step: He centralized Hungary, controlled the media, and purged the allegedly disloyal civil service apparatus. He adjusted the constitution as he wished, and now just 40 percent of the election result secures a two-thirds majority in parliament. He has brought courts and prosecutors into line, harasses NGOs, defames minorities, and restricts social measures and workers’ rights. His actions are a blueprint for how to destroy a liberal democracy. Autocratic tendencies are also unmistakable in Germany. But since we know how a democracy can be destroyed, we also know how to prevent it.