Belligerence Abroad, Repression at Home: From Venezuela to ICE, with Steven Gardiner

In this season bonus episode, Koki talks to Steven Gardiner, PRA Principal Research Advisor, about the Trump administration’s early-January attack on Venezuela and escalating domestic confrontations around ICE enforcement, including the Minneapolis protests around the murder of Nicole Good. Gardiner describes how the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro represents both a familiar extension of U.S. imperial power and a dangerous acceleration of presidential authority, bypassing Congress and normal democratic oversight. He explains that this belligerence largely resonates with the MAGA base, which accepts violent action when framed as efficient, hypermasculine, and rooted in authoritarianism rather than democracy or human rights. 

Gardiner concludes with guidance for organizers: increase participation to prevent fatigue and stress; build strong, offsite support networks off the front lines; maintain the practice nonviolence, prepare for right-wing provocation, targeting, and doxing; and apply sustained pressure on those with the biggest voices. Effective action, he argues, must extend beyond the streets to counter an increasingly authoritarian state.

Steven Gardiner is Principal Research Advisor and formerly Research Director here at Political Research Associates. He has been researching writing in opposition to the politics of bigotry, violence, and authoritarianism since the early 1990s. In 2004, Gardiner received a PhD in cultural anthropology from Cornell University. Since earning his doctorate, he has taught more than 20 different courses at eight universities in the United States, Pakistan, and the UAE. 

Episode Resources

• Political Research Associates, “Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days: Authoritarian Gains and Consolidation,” The Public Eye, 2025.  
• Katherine Stewart, “Burning Down the House: What’s Behind the U.S. Antidemocratic Reaction?” The Public Eye, 2025.  
•  Political Research Associates, “‘Do Not Let Grief Harden into Despair’: PRA Analyzes Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days, Part 1,” Inform Your Resistance, 2025. 
• Political Research Associates, “‘It's Never Just About Gender’: Gender and Authoritarianism: PRA Analyzes Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days, Part 2,” Inform Your Resistance, 2025.

Keywords

Venezuela attack, Nicolás Maduro kidnapping, Trump administration, authoritarianism, MAGA, foreign policy, ICE attacks, ICE raids, Anti-ICE protests, Renee Good murder, Minneapolis protests, Insurrection Act, hypermasculinity, U.S. imperialism, nonviolent resistance, right-wing provocation, protests, resistance, Far Right, fascism, repression, militarism