From Crisis of Representation to Constitutional Crisis: Trump, The Far Right, and Threats to Democracy

The events of January 6, 2021, where a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to impede the peaceful transfer of power, have marked both a new low and a fitting end to a Trump Presidency that has not been lacking in norm-defying and scandalous episodes. The fact that President Trump and his allies were largely responsible, not only for the constant feed of misinformation about the veracity of the election results, but also for a call-to-action that found its logical conclusion in the ugly scenes playing out at the Capitol (and on TV screens across the globe), is deeply troubling.

And yet, these anti-democratic tactics and behaviors extend far beyond Donald J. Trump and well beyond the United States of America. Many of the grievances voiced by his supporters have existed before Trump’s ascent to power and will remain past his time in office (and possible impeachment). Similar dynamics exist in liberal democracies across the Atlantic, as well. Therefore, democratic forces and institutions in Europe are facing a comparable set of challenges with regards to increasingly radicalized segments of the populus, who appear emboldened in their contempt for institutions, for political and media elites, for what they view as ‚the establishment‘.