Episode Details

Forget the dramatic image of tanks rolling into city streets or soldiers seizing control of a radio station. That is the old-school way to steal a country. In the modern era, the aspiring dictator uses a much quieter, more surgical approach called democratic backsliding. Think of it like a game of Jenga. Instead of kicking the table over, the authoritarian pulls out one wooden block at a time—a rule here, a norm there—until the entire structure looks the same from the outside, but is hollowed out and ready to collapse at the slightest push. This is what political scientists call salami tactics. By slicing away at democratic institutions in small, barely noticeable increments, these leaders maintain a facade of legitimacy. They do not claim to be ending democracy; they claim to be perfecting it. One of the first things they target is the independent referee. 

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