How fast can a democratic empire fall? If you ask Donald Trump, he will likely tell you that any answer is not fast enough. While the hallmarks of American democracy have been suffering greatly in the domestic sphere, it would seem that this is not satisfactory for the President, as he appears to be doing everything in his power to wreck America’s status and power internationally as well. As he continuously threatens members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and cozies up to some of the most infamous modern-day authoritarians, Trump’s frightening desire for a destabilized, non-democratic world has become abundantly clear.
Damaging Critical International Alliances
Following the end of World War II, twelve of the victorious allied powers joined forces to curb dangerous soviet and nationalist influences throughout Europe and the United States and increase the security forces of each country, thus creating the historic NATO coalition. Over the years, NATO membership has grown to include thirty-two countries and has cultivated a respected and impenetrable reputation for promoting democratic values and peaceful foreign relations, with the United States at its core.
Almost immediately after winning the 2024 Presidential election, Donald Trump began to turn on these shared values with threats to annex Canada, a founding NATO member. As he repeatedly expressed his intent to violate Canada’s sovereignty, promising to expand American territory during his inauguration speech, and even referring to then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump plunged America’s most valuable alliances into an uneasy new territory.
Soon after unnerving the global stage with his threats against Canada, Trump turned his sights to Greenland, announcing his fervent intention to annex this NATO aligned democratic nation as well. Though he insists that the United States must acquire Greenland for national security purposes, Trump’s plans have undoubtedly lessened the safety and stability of America and the nations receiving his unprecedented verbal attacks.
As Trump now turns his ire to the entirety of the NATO alliance, threatening to leave the organization altogether if the members do not unquestioningly support his illegal war in Iran, the unity, strength, and stability of the iconic pro-democratic alliance are weaker than ever.
Out with the Old, In with the New Age Authoritarians
Though Trump has been hard at work shredding America’s most beneficial democratic alliances, he has not cut the nation off from international collaboration entirely. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s longtime Prime Minister who has often been lauded as the poster child for modern European democratic erosion, has emerged as one of Trump’s closest second term allies.
On April 7th, 2026, the Trump Administration took a break from negotiations that could end the war with Iran and instead campaigned in support of Orbán’s floundering bid for re-election. Attending a rally in-person in Budapest, Vice President JD Vance heaped praise upon the populist authoritarian leader and furthered preemptive allegations that the then-upcoming Hungarian elections would be rigged against Orbán. Over the phone, Trump declared his love for and professed his commitment to the right-wing extremist, who has severely limited the rights of marginalized groups, gutted the rule of law, and non-democratically rewritten Hungary’s constitution during his sixteen consecutive years in office.
At the same time, Trump has vastly increased his deference to Israel, a nation struggling with their own democratic backsliding, allowing populist authoritarian leader Benjamin Netanyahu to lead America into the war with Iran. While Israel is not a new ally to America, the threat Netanyahu poses to democracy via his censoring of the media, capture of the judiciary, and genocidal violence in Palestine and beyond has recently grown to new heights. This is precisely why news that Netanyahu accompanied Trump to the situation room prior to the Iran war, while the Vice President and several Cabinet Officials were absent, is so deeply concerning.
Why Does This Alliance Shift Matter?
Trump’s clear preference for anti-democratic leaders and overt disapproval of pro-democratic nations and organizations loudly broadcasts his ideal vision for the United States and the world as a whole — non-democratic states marred by violence, polarization, limited civilian rights, and unquestioned submission to his authority.
While there are many differences between the nations, Hungary and Israel’s democratic struggles closely mirror America’s in several ways. Using Waldner and Lust’s and Müller’s impactful definitions, it can be determined that all the nations are currently facing varying levels of democratic erosion brought on by institutional weaknesses and accelerated by right-wing populist authoritarian heads of state. Additionally, all these leaders have now excelled in achieving executive aggrandizement — the extreme weakening of checks on executive power — which Political Scientist Nancy Bermeo identifies as the most common form of modern democratic backsliding.
It does not require any stretch of the imagination to believe that the more long-term and firmly embedded elements of democratic erosion that have taken hold in these foreign nations are Trump’s end goal for America, especially when the designers of the destruction are only an influential phone call away.
With Trump’s unabashed support for these dubious leaders, there can no longer be any doubt that democracy is in grave danger in America and internationally.
But Isn’t It Good for Leaders to Work Together?
The coordination of corruption that the Trump Administration has engaged in this month alone is utterly staggering and goes far beyond typical friendly assistance. Trump’s actions, both in destabilizing NATO and embracing perilous figures and their ideologies, bring serious physical harm to civilians abroad and economic harm to those in America.
Trump’s decisions throughout his second term have also immensely damaged America’s status as a trustworthy, democratic global superpower, with the V-Dem Institute stripping the United States of its status as a liberal democracy for the first time in over fifty years. The 2026 V-Dem report also credits the “ongoing autocratization in the USA” with bringing the level of democracy that citizens of Western Europe and North America enjoy to its lowest point in over fifty years.
Not Entirely a Lost Cause
Although the evidence of this ongoing degradation of democracy is alarming, America is far from being a lost cause. Political Scientist Kurt Weyland theorizes that democracies tend to outlive populist leaders, especially if the nation has a long-standing, deep-rooted history of upholding democratic values and if there is no major sustained crisis to latch on to. Luckily for the world at large, America more than fits the bill, even two years into Trump’s second term.
Additionally, Viktor Orbán has just lost his first election in 16 years, suggesting that Trump’s power is not as great as he would like to believe, and that the authoritarian wave that has been sweeping the globe may finally be slowing down.
Conclusion
Trump’s recent shifting of allies reveals the alarming truth about his intentions for a destabilized and anti-democratic world, where all defer to him and his select group of powerful allies. However, research and recent events demonstrate that the death of democracy is not a foregone conclusion. If enough citizens and leaders unite to utilize their personal power and affirm their commitment to democracy, the global stage can be returned to its peaceful pro-democracy state.
*Photo by Fred Moon, “A woman holding a sign saying “We demand democracy.”” September 25, 2019, (Unsplash), Unsplash License.
This is a great post, and I completely agree with the way you lay out the bigger picture. What you’re describing matches a lot of what IR scholars point to when major powers start drifting away from their long standing alliances. It’s pretty clear that institutions like NATO work because states treat those commitments as stable and predictable. However, now we have a leader signaling that these obligations are optional, which is creating uncertainty and power shifting, just like you highlight. Allies get nervous, rivals get bolder, and the whole system becomes less steady. It’s scary to see a real shift in norms and expectations, in real time, that have structured global politics for so long
Well written and I completely agree with your points on NATO. I would think this aspect of Trump’s presidency will prove to be one of (out of so, so many) the more egregious missteps. Collective defence and democratic peace are two very important features of the security landscape that has given breathing room for democracies to breathe in the aftermath of WWII. Not only that, but it has acted in so many ways as a check against ambitious autocratic countries. Even without Article 5, joint efforts by NATO member countries have been instrumental in all sorts of interventions and peacekeeping operations, most recently to protect Ukraine. Your point on executive aggrandizement is also very compelling, and as you point out, plays straight out of the handbook on autocraticization. Hopefully, Orban’s ouster will signal the destruction of this trend just as his ascension marked its start.
I like that you linked alliances like NATO to shifting leadership priorities helps show why foreign relationships matter for democracy at home, not just abroad.
The sections comparing different leaders and countries is good at showing how democratic backsliding can appear in multiple ways at once. Your post makes a clear case that changes in international alignment can have wider implications for democratic accountability and global trust in institutions. And also makes me very much fear what’s next to come for our democracy…
Lyndsey,
Great job on this. I really liked how your post flowed nicely from your initial point about Trump trying to destroy America’s status in the world into the examples you gave about Trump wanting to annex Canada and threatening to leave NATO. I also liked how you mentioned how Trump is cozying up to wannabe dictators like Viktor Orban and Benjamin Netanyahu.
I am also cautiously optimistic that the United States can turn around its democratic backsliding, but I really believe it needs to make some serious reforms that would make populism possible. For one, the U.S needs to make reforms in elections that allow billionaires to pour boatloads of money into campaigns, and capitalize on populism for their own gain.
This post is an apt, frightening, and amazing description.
And as you described in the final two paragraphs, I do believe that American Democracy will survive and come out all the stronger for it. Thomas Paine, in ‘The Crisis’, wrote “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Lyndsey, first of all your title on this post is FABULOUS. The situation isn’t fabulous, but the fact that you somehow found a way to use a Billie Eilish song to explain democratic erosion deserves some praise and flowers. This blog post while about concerning things was so digestible, I was engaged from start to finish thanks to how thoroughly you explained how detrimental discarding these alliances is, to your relevant sources that helped back up every point, to how you got right to the point and called a spade a spade when it comes to how reckless the behaviour of the Administration is. I also really appreciate your ability to find some hope at the end when speaking about how American democracy isn’t entirely a lost cause, we need those reminders, especially when studying all of the ways that said democracy is being weakened.