Eight rules of antiauthoritarianism
Introducing the Democracy Atlas
When the 2024 election results were called this past November, I had a flashback to a backyard barbecue I’d attended in 1999 in the small coastal city in Venezuela where I was living at the time.
Hugo Chávez had been in office less than a year, and between bites of char-grilled steak and sips of rum cocktails, my fellow attendees were debating the relative merits of the new president’s policies and their concerns about his less-than-pristine relationship with the rule of law. (Chávez had led an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1992.) Though democratically elected, Chávez soon closed the door behind him — abolishing term limits, redrawing districts to favor his allies, using state resources to suppress the opposition, stacking the National Electoral Council, and remaining in office until his death in 2013. His hand-picked Bolivarian successor, Nicholás Maduro, still holds power. And it seems that no matter how many votes the other side garners, they simply have not managed to overcome the authoritarian grip on their country (yet).
Venezuela has been heavy on my mind this year, as were all the countries where I’ve monitored elections and observed manipulation of the people, the process, and the results. Was the United States destined to follow a similar path? What did we need to watch for? What should we do in order to keep our elections from being manipulated? How do we make sure every valid vote is counted in 2026 and 2028?
Motivated by these questions, a team of my colleagues and I interviewed dozens of leaders, experts, practitioners, and scholars from around the world. From Cambodia to Zimbabwe, we learned how their electoral systems have been corrupted, the tactics they’ve used to try and safeguard them, and what gives them hope. From these rich conversations we came up with eight rules of antiauthoritarianism, lessons that democracy defenders can apply to stay in the game, be strategic and smart, and, ultimately, keep the United States from declining into a more authoritarian form of government.
This is the Democracy Atlas.
In this series, my colleague Michael Angeloni will pair each of the eight rules with a case study from one of the countries we examined. The rules and accompanying case studies are as follows:
Rule two: Be unified. Be visible (Turkey)
Rule three: Win lawsuits and hearts and minds (Mexico)
Rule four: Leadership lives in everyone (Cambodia)
Rule five: Show — don’t tell — how things work and what is trustworthy (Nigeria)
Rule six: Remember: Autocrats are not invincible. But be careful (Zimbabwe)
Rule seven: Leave the door open for defectors (Serbia)
Rule eight: Keep going (Poland)
To get each of these lessons in your inbox, make sure you’re subscribed. (The first one will be tomorrow!)
I know you don’t need to be convinced of the threat in the United States, but I’m certain you’re wondering what else you can do to stop it. Our goal with this series is to show you how others have navigated the erosion of their own democratic spaces. That way you will be able to spot mistakes to avoid, or, even better, identify the role you want to play in shaping the course of our own history as it unfolds.
We don’t know the exact formula of events and actions that will halt the spread of authoritarian power here in the United States. We can’t predict exactly what will move the needle or how long it will take. But if we all find the courage to keep showing up, to continue to build toward victory, to believe in ourselves and each other, to do what we can, especially when it’s hard — together, it will add up to something powerful.
Authoritarianism is no match for the human spirit. I hope that this series brings you strength and inspiration as you do your part to protect our democracy.
 | A guest post by
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It is really important that ordinary citizens not get depressed and hopeless. Most of us are limited in how many checks we can send. Steps that are doable by ordinary concerned citizens will be helpful.
thank you!