What Colombians can teach Americans about the years to come
Prolonged periods of chaos and instability are nothing new to most countries in the world. As the United States veers toward authoritarianism or civil war, how do citizens cope with such periods?
I've been out of Europe for the past month, in the United States and Colombia. For the past two weeks here in Colombia I've been working on two projects looking at this country's remarkable progress over the past two decades. What has struck me in travelling from 2025 America to 2025 Colombia is just how much the tables have turned - and just how much American exceptionalism is dead.
Monday will be one of the darkest days in American history, as a man who attempted a coup against a free and fair election is sworn in as President of the United States. It will come just days after the Justice Department released its damning report on the January 6th insurrection. The report concludes that though they must drop the charges because Trump has been elected (and would thus only pardon himself), there would have been ample evidence to convict him of trying to obstruct the 2020 election results if the case had gone to trial. Meanwhile, this week a man who said a civil war might be necessary if Democrats were to win the 2024 election is sitting in Senate hearings as Trump’s nominee to head the American military. Trump has already prepared his enemies list to persecute his political foes, with Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris at the top of the list. More will follow, including journalists. Even before taking office, Trump has rocked the world with threats to invade and annex Greenland, Canada and Panama.
Authoritarianism looming
It is clear that the new US president, and his party which has now been completely taken over by the far right, intend to take the US down a road to authoritarianism starting on Monday. There are then two questions. Will America's democratic institutions (the judiciary, Congress and the media) stop this? I have little confidence that they will given the acquiescence they have shown to Trump thus far. The second question is whether non-institutional means will develop instead to resist authoritarianism. Would Americans - particularly Democrats - take the imposition of an authoritarian regime lying down? Here is where we get into very dangerous territory that could quickly spiral out of control, both for the US and the wider world.