In a year, American voters will decide whether or not they want to install a dictator in the White House. Donald Trump is no longer hiding his ambitions to govern like the leaders of so-called “illiberal” democracies. He is following in the footsteps of other dictators such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey or Viktor Orban in Hungary. On Thursday, Trump suggested he could use the FBI and Justice Department to neutralize opponents. Internal developments in the United States have become a concern for leaders around the world. In Canada we are particularly affected by this development.
1) What did Trump say?
Trump essentially said that he would be willing to do the same if elected because Democrats had used the FBI and Justice Department as weapons. However, the Democrats did not use the FBI and the Justice Department as weapons against Trump. The American justice system has several flaws, but remains independent of the political apparatus. The lawsuits against Trump are not coming from Democratic leaders. If judges and prosecutors were to respond to surveys about their political affiliations, they would likely find the same proportions of Republicans and Democrats as they do among educated voters.
2) Why is Trump’s statement worrying?
Trump would not be the first politician to use a country’s political institutions to neutralize his opponents. That’s what most dictators do. This is also one of the reasons why democracies are extremely strict about the autonomy and independence of the judiciary.
3) Is the American judiciary autonomous and independent?
The autonomy and independence of the American judicial system is not perfect. For example, Supreme Court justices are appointed by Congress, which subsequently influences the policy judgments the court must make. But in criminal matters, as in most civil cases, the impartiality of the Supreme Court is not in question. Likewise, the American judiciary as a whole is impartial. Trump wants people to believe the opposite because he knows he runs the risk of being found guilty.
4) Why are developments in the United States worrying?
The United States remains the most powerful democracy in the world. The American political system is a reference for people striving for democracy. The long-standing decay of American democracy can only discredit the idea of democracy. However, Chinese and Russian leaders have been trying for several years to make people believe that their social model is as legitimate as that of democracies. Dictators always want to believe that they rule for the good of everyone. If they are enlightened, which is rarely the case, their dictatorship can be bearable. But when they are incompetent, which is most often the case, their people suffer and they are virtually impossible to remove.
5) How is Canada vulnerable to changes in American politics?
As everyone knows, Canada has long been influenced by American culture, for better or worse. The western provinces are heavily influenced by political currents close to Trumpism. However, because the political institutions of Canada and Quebec are very different from those of the United States, it would be difficult for a Canadian Trump to manipulate them in his favor.
