Re:Don't discount American democracy's resilience
by 0xbadcafebee on Monday February 02, 2026 @04:01PM
(#46861484)
Countries that have reverted from democracy to authoritarianism/autocracy: Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Italy, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
Countries that went that way due to coup: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Honduras, Italy, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Uruguay
Countries that have gone from democracy to partial erosion of democracy: Armenia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, India, Israel, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, United States
There's a reason they called it the democratic experiment. We've had a good run, but everything ends eventually.
Re:Don't discount American democracy's resilience
by palata on Monday February 02, 2026 @03:45PM
(#46861271)
Interesting article. I find it a little bit ironic, though, to say "it's more complicated than just a one dimension", and then to use what sounds like "naive metrics" to e.g. compare democracies.
Isn't it arbitrary to say "the longest standing"? What about "the oldest"? Would Greece qualify? Or "the happiest"? Or "the less unequal"? There are surely many ways to compare democracies.
> Events are pro-democratic [...] such as free and fair elections with multiple parties, and courts and parliaments;
Apart from being the "longest standing" democracy, could one ask if it is the most exemplary? Shouldn't that count as well? There are only two parties in the US, and they don't exactly cover the largest spectrum of political opinions. For many other countries, the US don't have a "left" at all: in comparison they would be the right (democrats) and the far right (republicans).
> or if they are in support of civil liberties such as freedom of association and speech.
Same thing here: "freedom of speech" is more complicated than it seems. Does being in support of hate speech count as pro-democratic? One could ask... When Elon Musk, after making nazi salutes himself, says that Germany is against free speech because it is illegal to make a nazi salute there, does that count as pro-democracy?
Re:Don't discount American democracy's resilience
by AuthAuth on Monday February 02, 2026 @03:32PM
(#46861078)
I do think American's desire for democracy is very resilient but I worry that the 'force and might' of the gov may become to strong and the public does not have the apatite to bare war and suffering required to remove it.
Hopefully it doesnt come to that and Trump's power can be voted away in the midterms and there will be a peaceful transition back to sane governance.
Countries that went that way due to coup: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Honduras, Italy, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Uruguay
Countries that have gone from democracy to partial erosion of democracy: Armenia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, India, Israel, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, United States
There's a reason they called it the democratic experiment. We've had a good run, but everything ends eventually.
Isn't it arbitrary to say "the longest standing"? What about "the oldest"? Would Greece qualify? Or "the happiest"? Or "the less unequal"? There are surely many ways to compare democracies.
> Events are pro-democratic [...] such as free and fair elections with multiple parties, and courts and parliaments;
Apart from being the "longest standing" democracy, could one ask if it is the most exemplary? Shouldn't that count as well? There are only two parties in the US, and they don't exactly cover the largest spectrum of political opinions. For many other countries, the US don't have a "left" at all: in comparison they would be the right (democrats) and the far right (republicans).
> or if they are in support of civil liberties such as freedom of association and speech.
Same thing here: "freedom of speech" is more complicated than it seems. Does being in support of hate speech count as pro-democratic? One could ask... When Elon Musk, after making nazi salutes himself, says that Germany is against free speech because it is illegal to make a nazi salute there, does that count as pro-democracy?
Hopefully it doesnt come to that and Trump's power can be voted away in the midterms and there will be a peaceful transition back to sane governance.
What's that?