A structure is literally your hands i dont care how far down the Truck Drivers there is not that citys going to do to stop this nation from voting no matter what it drives. The biden terrorist plan would outlaw American Energy you would at least economic bizzare for iowa wisconsin pennsylvania michigan and every other state in america your energy costs would go up at a level that youve never seen he wants to raise your taxes a vigil has been held inside the church where 3 people were killed in a knife attack in the french city of nice last week but least of release 3 men who were arrested in relation to the incident the suspect is still in hospital. Thousands of people in georgia have gathered outside parliament to protest against Election Results opposition parties on their support is accusing the governing party of rigging the parliamentary election and intimidating vote has the Georgian Dream party has won 48 percent of the votes with most of them counted now at least 10 people been killed in the philippines as typhoon goni barreled through the country its destroyed hundreds of homes as a post about a 1000000 people evacuated from its projected path the storm has now weakened. As a by johns president has vowed to secure armenias withdrawal from the disputed region im not going to carry back by any means and have made the remarks after talks with the foreign minister. The president added that his country would go to the end to achieve its goals if negotiations fail. Between azerbaijan and armenia of the separatist territories and to its 6th week those are your headlines stick with us. Frank assessments American Public opinion piece betrayed by social media platforms after november what would be because if you believe that there are a simple to our democracy one obvious solution is to break up informed opinion. Is not going anywhere the protesters arent going anywhere either its ability of the revolution people indepth analysis of the days global headlines who is it thats really out there on the street inside story on aljazeera. As americans had to the polls many worry a 2nd term for President Donald Trump could usher in the end of democracy in the socalled land of the free and this weeks upfront special we debate whether democracy across the globe is in peril and talk about the rise of strongman leaders. Is democracy under attack across the world according to a report released earlier this year the majority of the worlds countries are now autocracies thats for the 1st time since 2001 the rise of right wing socalled strongman leaders in recent years from donald trump in the u. S. To victor orban and hungry and arranger modi in india has fueled fears that liberal values are at risk theres all this talk of democracy dying overblown and what makes a true democracy anyway joining me to debate this are ruth yat a historian and professor at New York University and the author of the book strong men miscellany to the present shadi hamid a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in washington d. C. And a contributing writer to the atlantic and ashley farmer an assistant professor at the university of texas austin and the author of the book remaking black power how black women it transforms an era thank you all for joining me on front so ruth i want to start with you and your book strongman you said that combating authoritarian ascension is one the most pressing issues of our time so does that mean you see converse leave that that democracy is on the decline and in fact even under attack. I do very much and in the book and in my writings i draw attention to the way that although authoritarianism is often presented by us and their own propaganda as a stable and productive system of government its actually extremely destructive causing harm to business causing communities of exiles draining the nation of talent and as weve seen often handling National Health crises like the coronavirus very badly so i conclude that its the next essential threat what your input on this show do you think that democracy is is on the decline democracy is on the decline in the world writ large but we have to be specific about what were talking about. If were talking about the us i think theres only one conclusion to reach and thats american democracy for all of its flaws is still a democracy its still functioning weve had a vigorous opposition to donald trump and i think for me the last 4 years have been something of a relief that it could have been much worse everyone who was predicting that trump would make america into some kind of pseudo dictatorship theyve been proven wrong definitively and hopefully well have further confirmation of that fact after the elections next week. And so thats a more optimistic spin i suppose and i think words matter and the danger in saying that america is no longer a democracy then then words dont really mean much at all it doesnt make sense to compare the u. S. To actual thora tarion regimes and this is coming from someone like me who thinks trump is really bad but badness is not the same as dictatorship ashley i want your thoughts on this chinese saying yeah its bad but it could have been much worse what do you say is the state of democracy right now so i think you have to think about who is talking about what democracy is and for who are many African Americans living in the United States and other mind and eyes populations on the question of whether the u. S. As it is a robust democracy has always been a question and under threat i agree that we cant get in kind of hyperbolic comparisons between some of the genocides that are happening around the world and authoritarian dictatorships and whats happening here but id like to remind people of that you know we can also say that africanamericans have been under a stage in the cycle to exterminate and marginalized them out of democracy for the better part of several centuries so lets talk about what youre saying there ashley that that in a lot of ways what youre saying that the issues are much bigger than trump that the history of what women of people of color are being marginalized and they. Democracy that as the u. S. What role that that play and how weve gotten to this point whether you have to think about race and democracy on 2 fronts trade so a democracy kind of broadly defined as majority rule and active participation its been baked into the very fabric of america from the constitution to today of the marginalization majority africanamericans but also minority other minority groups and people women immigrants except read on addition to that we have to think about how race functions as a way of moving us towards authoritarian regimes race as a way of other and people you then stoke fears about that other as opposition to american democracy and democratic ideals and then you kind of create this Conspiracy Theory that these others margery africanamericans but i exclusively in the sense of trying immigrants are coming to take your land or your nation and you need to get behind the leader so i mean you know the act of race and racism in United States has not only made it so that large amount of people cannot participate in democracy but also have been a very big tool for moving us towards authoritarian rhetoric if not regimes in that that race i would i would go ahead. Yeah i want to jump in and say this is backed up by history over and over around the world. Strongmen appeal when the country is had they often side favor when a country has just had significant progress toward racial gender class equity and thats exactly when these individual finds favor as a way of kind of turning back the clock and they Promise National greatness but its at the price of of taming the others who shouldnt who should learn their place and go back to where they were before but it is dynamic that is now let me ask you about that because youve written about various people in your book and it sounds like what youre talking about is also something that the entire valsin r. O. Has been doing and brazil as well that other leaders have used to be a dog whistle but its really loud and playing right now the kinds of signals that theyre sending to people they tap into race Socio Economic background how to talk more about how they use those types of things to whip up what is basically White Nationalism yeah and this differs of course from country to country but they legitimize and energize existing antidemocratic and extremist and racist had to see that in the case of brazil from the very start both the narrow posed himself as kind of reactivating the authoritarian energies of brazil military dictatorship but also made himself the voice of the white european decided minority and brazil as a kind of you know guard against others who are not white european board minorities or origin minorities getting powers so its all the more marked what has happened in brazil and theres also this recourse both scenario is backed by the eventual christians so thats this alliance that you see repeatedly. At play including in the united. States id just like to add that i mean you know when you see this kind of playbook which comes ministration here it started with you know make it great and great again which is a huge dog whistle to lets go back to a time when white people didnt get infringed upon and then we see him going to law and order and then most recently and you know the debate not the last one but the one before we see him just unwilling to disavow White Nationalism so it went from this kind of dog whistle detailed understanding we were going back to whiteness segregation in jena phobia and now its just you know unveiled what national ok lets talk more about if i could stop and shoddy that my next question was do you study but go ahead i was just going to say that we have to separate between things here i mean racism is racism thats not the same as being authoritarian so when we talk about democracy were talking about it in the procedural sense alternation of power through regular elections were talking about being accountable to the majority or to a plurality of voters democracies can still embark on racist policies so when were saying when were kind of conflating these things i think were losing a little bit of precision racism is bad but its bad for Different Reasons its immoral for a different reason that racism cant be a tool of it at the orange hereon can it not. Certainly a tool yeah yeah and i think there are any number of examples of but again i mean the us has been embarking on reason especially in previous areas of our history you know weve had racist policies on the institutional level again does that mean that we were an authoritarian state in you know 50 or 60 years ago or even 30 years ago i mean thats sort of what were talking about here ok so lets keep talking about donald trump in the u. S. Right now because early voting has been going on for a few weeks record turnout the official election day is just a few days away but donald trump has been read lentulus relentless and his attacks on the integrity of the election questioning ballots questioning mel malin votes he specifically said were going to have to see what happens the ballots are a disaster the ballots are out of control you know what that is a quote from donald trump so some people are concerned that he might not go if he loses he might not go quietly the hallmark of a democracy is a peaceful transfer of power ruth do people are they have a right to be concerned or are they overreacting here heres the thing theres a reason although ive spent decades studying fascism i never called on top of fashions. Because every authoritarianism evolves over a 100 years and its not going to look like hitlers germany or mostly nice italy today and today authoritarians come in through elections and then they manipulate elections to stay in power and so i think that in warning since i started warning in 2000 you know 16 before trump was elected that he had authoritarian tendencies and as as shaddy says it is silly to say that i mean no one is saying i hope that america is a dictatorship because we wouldnt you know we wouldnt be doing all the work were doing in the states my book wouldnt be coming out if that were true but all these leaders started somewhere and even miscellany was a Prime Minister of a democracy for 3 years before he declared dictatorship and but even leaving aside if we go to the 21st century look at what oregons been able to do we now rules by decree hes completely domesticated the media and hes done this without significant physical violence so we if we look at how authoritarian ism is that evolution rather than a revolution today then for me it its very safe to say that we are heading in that direction were not there yet but what is that there what is there going to look like its going to look different in every time and place so shoddy let me ask you this you said i dont believe that donald trump is a fascist or a dictator in the making i dont believe america is a failed state and youve also been very specific to talk about words because words matter you said that you like to think of dolly more as an it liberal democrat you think that is is the proper term for him obviously nuance matters words matters of course anality matters having said that how do you think he will react to the election if you consider him it liberal democrat. So i think hell hell complain about the results hell attack them hell try to you know rally his base and get them angry but if the results are clear and theyre certified and theres Media Coverage about who won and we may have to wait for a few days to get a fuller sense of the results as mail in ballots come in i mean trump can stay in the white house against everyone elses will we have institutions if biden is the clear winner republicans as a party will understand that the wind is blowing in a particular direction and theyre not going to fall down with theyre not going to sink with a sinking ship and in this case the sinking ship will be donald trump and this is where i think theres theres a big difference between America Today and say germany or italy in the twentys or thirtys does where young democracies that didnt have a lot of history of democratic competition were one of the oldest democracies in the world and moreover most americans believe in the american idea people you know there is less misguided in a manner isnt it declare that that may be a lot of americans dont considering how many supporters donald trump passy has 60000000 people i mean i think that makes clear there is a significant chunk of americans that are in fact not committed to this this universal i i deal that we all thought you know i mean those are a fellow americans i dont think that we should see the 60000000 people who voted for trump as deplorable z. I disagree with them i think they have bad ideas but were still part of the American Family so to speak and i think that if you ask most of them do you believe in america in the founding documents in the declaration in the constitution and 776 matters i think most of them would say yes i mean theres a small percentage of who do they believe in that for that is that is the question they may believe in that for a certain segment but theyre holding on for dear life to make sure everybody doesnt get it. When ashley and i. Get that it has a dress that i you know i want to i want to point 1st is i am also in agreement that i would not say that we are in a fascist dictatorship but i would say is we can look to the americans who voted for and their issues with black people immigrants exact age and their willingness to allow the american nation state to eggs are kind of authoritarian or bordering on authoritarian rhetoric and or strategies to make sure that they are not part of the American Dream or the kind of democratic ideals that we all are living up to as a harbinger of possible things to come right and there is an entire part of this population that really lives in a subjugated a different understanding of american democracy and rules and the majority of folks that donald trump is talking about and appealing to and that deals exe and exclusively engages in state sponsored the question you know lack of freedom of speech lack of freedom of movement except her and that are all very much kind of the canary in the coal mine of what the state is willing to do to its citizens and what we should be careful to watch out for earth he want to talk about when true im sorry im sorry go ahead. But ill just very quickly i mean when trump says and does racist things so i as a muslim and an arab you know we have experienced some of trumps racism with the muslim banner the travel ban whatever you want to call it when he became president but what was so great about being in this country as an american muslim is that we didnt say that oh were going to leave or we have to give up on america and its too late for america we said no were going to fight back and were going to claim these were going to say were just as american as anyone else and that trump is violating the american idea and we were able to make that case thats what americans do every single day black and brown people who face Police Brutality and so on when they argue against it most of the time theyre sick. This goes against the american idea we can become better and we believe in the idea of progress so that to me suggests that people arent giving up hope theyre saying that america has the potential to improve and were in a constant state of improving ourselves and thats been part of the american story Getting Better than the way we were before because let me put this to ruth so in a way it sounds like wit which saudi is describing is for lack of a better term almost growing pains in a way and that there is a mechanism for protests and such because our democracy is largely functioning even though it is being tested is that the do you agree with that route. Oh absolutely its its an enormous laboratory right now starting with the fact that americans are very different than many other populations in the world and that they have never had Foreign Occupation theyve never had an experience of National Dictatorship and although i dont actually believe were an old democracy because until africanamericans had civil rights and could vote we were not a democracy the other thing i want to point out which is very sobering theres been a lot of comparative politics studies coming out about the g. O. P. People norris that harvard and others have done these studies that place the platform of the g. O. P. In comparative perspective with many other parties and find that it is a very when you look at its positions and also the weights acted in the leader follower relationship with trump its 2020 platform was just and people of all content except lets support trump. Hes wrapped them around you know his finger so the duty is actually in many respects far right party ideologically and it lines up as these studies show with the heir to one party and certain things with modis party and so i think that what ive tried to do as a as a not i im not a historian of america my parents are not american and i come to this with a global viewpoint and i looked at how trump maps on very well to this kind of authoritarian leaning playbook and so does the g. O. P. The way that you p. S. Behaved with him conforms as they want to pick up on something that ruth said specifically about them about the the Republican Party donald trump said back in march in reference to make trying to make voting easier and give as many people you know an easier time at the poll he said you never have a republican elected in this country again he said that out loud and reference to choose to not suppressing the vote and as i said over the course of history. People women have been disenfranchised right and its clear that the Republican Party has made an effort to have as few people participate in the process as possible having said that what do you make of this almost the country convulsing and away with protests over the last few months of people trying to use their voice people who have not been able to use their voice for so long you know i mean i think this brings up 2 points so yes we have never had a dictatorship or a Foreign Occupation but that being said the checks and balances arent working in the same way and the breast way is that everybody thinks there is i mean that people are more black people more than anybody are kind of in this group have believed in the American Dream and fought for but nevertheless we still continue to fall short and not live up to the democratic ideals one of the things that has always worked in the past for us it is going to the streets and making a broader call for democracy than we do maybe just at the ballot box especially being disenfranchised and i think what thats done for a lot of people is made them realize how different of a world black people live in then the majority of white people and how tenuous their own rights are if you can watch on black people being shot yesterday if you can right john that people being turned away at the polls and so like i said before really the index of a democracy is how the quote unquote lowest of the low are able to engage in its basic you know participate principles and what people have shown this right are you know kind of Robust Interest in america nobody seems to be more kind of you know supporting america and saying we are american more than us because we built there still is a will for it to kind of negate us from the even the best basic principles if donald trump whens the election what do you think that means for democracy in the u. S. Well i think that its clear that it is going in a direction where the checks and balances are not as robust as we think they are yes he can be quote unquote democratic elected but we also know that the g. O. P. Is going to get behind him and become a party that is invested their authoritarian rhetoric and strategies if not a full on regime that he feels and agrees that he should be unchecked by congress and the Supreme Court we watched him put in the Supreme Court nominee in a matter of being and i also think it means that were going to have to be engaged in a lot of civil unrest to make our democratic ideals know that we have seen that at the ballot box its not being represented or kind of adequately reflected so i think we can expect a lot of kind of counterbalance in the form of civil protest as well ok but this put this to you i mean you have said that you know were a democracy if you dont like him you can vote him out that you know are guardrails and structures are largely still in place but if donald trump wins what word do you think were headed with all of those things. I mean one reason i really hope donald trump. Doesnt win is so we can avoid testing this proposition i feel like weve acquitted ourselves pretty well the past 4 years it was a difficult test it was challenging and but america has been resilient i dont know if i want to have 4 more years of stress on the system troubled as a chaos agent he poisons everything he touches he polarizes american politics he makes americans turn against each other i think if in the worst Case Scenario he wins and he sowed a close victory it will be a tough 4 years i think well be able to get past it again because were more resilient often than we think but it will not be an easy time and i think americans writ large we need to have some relief after the exhaustion of the past 4 years and also i think its worth noting one thing that trump has been quite bad at is emboldening autocrats abroad and we havent talked about that as much but trump doesnt care about human rights abroad he doesnt talk about supporting democracy hes close buddies with some of the worst authoritarians in the world like sisi in egypt or m. B. A. s in saudi arabia so thats in some ways a part that im more in right out there in russia the list is long and i think that 4 more years of trump turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in key countries. Thats not good obviously and you know another reason to hope that theres a certain outcome i think thats a great point that saudi made ruth if donald trump wins and gets 4 more years in the u. S. What do you think that that means for democracy in the u. S. And broader because shotty makes a very good point i mean that donald trump and what happens in the u. S. Has a knock on effect in so many other places i was about to make the same point in fact that theres also the issue of content you can call it contagion. Alexander bull but when theres the air leaders who want to ban the International Order which he clearly does think of the number of treaties and conventions that the us has withdrawn from think of the reconfiguring of our alliances this is huge this is a part where we get so rightfully so wrapped up with what is going on inside our very enormous country that its hard to step back ive been calling this axis 2. 0 since 2016 again not because its fascist because thats not the right word to refer to air don and putin a lot of that the thing thats going on in this relates back to the strongman thing these are the rulers who also use their personal relationships based on mutual profit if theyre all about exploitation and making money. And Foreign Policy become subjugated to their private deals with other despots. And so this is something that will continue on if if he is reelected ok that will be the final word rethink yacht Shadi Hamid Ashley farmer thank you all for joining us for this discussion we appreciate it very much thank you and that is the show for this week up front will be back next. Week. Thank you. Dissecting the headlines in the midst of a pandemic lets start with some of the on the ground realities affecting the News Coverage whats the lay of the land there stripping away the spam reaping still worry about president ial corruption it is real reporting its not if you keep challenging assumptions and the official line we all decided we need to cut our security we dont want to do a lie on the authority and its listening post on aljazeera. When coronavirus struck america care homes for the elderly became ground 0 they cut corners things dont get done and people die as a result full klines reveals how a troubled industry imploded under the weight of the pandemic we put profit the book patient care. But isnt that the american way. Tells us what kind of people we are. When covert hit americas nursing home like mad jessie it up. With your help your devotion and your drive we are going to keep on working we are going to keep on fighting and we are going to keep on winning winning winning when time fos running out donald trump goes on a 5 state frenzy to drum up last minute support ahead of the u. S. Elections. Are still parked on the line to sit it out were only half true war days