Experts in authoritarian regimes say Comeys firing was a shock event
E.A. Crunden at ThinkProgress
https://thinkprogress.org/james-comey-fired-authoritarianism-ef2ec50d266f
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“It constitutes a shock event,” Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at NYU, said of Comey’s firing. “When he was inaugurated, there was a slew of legislation, including the travel ban. [Trump] want[s] to uproot the system.”
Still, the move wasn’t necessarily a jolt to those who have been following Trump’s first months in office, and Ben-Ghiat said she wasn’t particularly surprised. Trump has been exhibiting authoritarian tendencies since he took office, she noted, and this latest move fits into a larger pattern. Much like his failed attempt to curtail Muslim travel to the United States, Trump’s decision to fire Comey puts stress on U.S. democratic norms and the rule of law.
“Democracy is threatened in drips,” Ben-Ghiat said. “You have drips and drips….then you have these [huge] events.”
Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College, drew parallels between Trump and leaders like Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. Both Erdoğan and Orbán have slowly chipped away at democratic institutions, undermined civil society, and slowly increased their own power. This, Berman said, seems to be the approach Trump is taking.
“[Trump has] made it clear that he has no patience for people who disagree with him,” said Berman. “However, there’s a difference between that and doing something that is undemocratic.”
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