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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans closely resemble autocratic parties in Hungary and Turkey - study
Julian Borger in Washington
Mon 26 Oct 2020 01.00 EDT
The Republican party has become dramatically more illiberal in the past two decades and now more closely resembles ruling parties in autocratic societies than its former centre-right equivalents in Europe, according to a new international study.
In a significant shift since 2000, the GOP has taken to demonising and encouraging violence against its opponents, adopting attitudes and tactics comparable to ruling nationalist parties in Hungary, India, Poland and Turkey.
The shift has both led to and been driven by the rise of Donald Trump.
By contrast the Democratic party has changed little in its attachment to democratic norms, and in that regard has remained similar to centre-right and centre-left parties in western Europe. Their principal difference is the approach to the economy.
The new study, the largest ever of its kind, was carried out by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, using newly developed methods to measure and quantify the health of the worlds democracies at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise. Anna Lührmann, V-Dems deputy director, said the Republican transformation had been certainly the most dramatic shift in an established democracy.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/26/republican-party-autocratic-hungary-turkey-study-trump
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Dirty Socialist
(3,252 posts)Important article
Brainfodder
(6,423 posts)Might even TEAR up?