Postscript: Political Scientists Ring Alarm Bell Over Trump’s Second Administration

After being sworn in as the 47th president, President Donald Trump quickly altered American government – and political discourse. He issued a slew of executive orders that affected how American government functions and he spoke about officers of the government, federal agencies, executive power, the press, the Constitution, and the rule of law in ways that surprised citizens, journalists, and many scholars. Postscript has devoted three podcasts to how professional historians have assessed Trump’s actions. Today, we look at how political scientists understand the second Trump presidency and how they have organized to amplify their concerns. Over 1200 trained political scientists signed a statement that lays out alarming changes to American government – and today’s podcast features the incoming president of the American Political Science Association, Dr. Susan Stokes, to discuss the statement and what it means for so many political scientists to sign it. With her forthcoming book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies (Princeton University Press), Sue Stokes is the perfect person to assess democratic erosion and autocracy. Our conversation provides insights into the state of American politics, resources for people who want to oppose democratic erosion, and particular suggestions for teachers – and sneak peak into her new book.

Dr. Susan Stokes is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of political science and Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy at The University of Chicago. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is co-director of Bright Line Watch, a group of political scientists who monitor democratic practices, their resilience, and potential threats. Dr. Stokes has spent her career unpacking how democracy functions in developing societies, distributive politics, and comparative political behavior. Her books include Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism: The Puzzle of Distributive Politics (Cambridge, 2013), and Why Bother? Rethinking Participation in Elections and Protests, co-authored with S. Erdem Aytaç (Cambridge, 2019).

Mentioned:

• Statement signed by over 1200 political scientists (closed for signatures)
• Bright Line Watch: political scientists monitor democratic practices, resilience, and potential threats
• APSA “take action” suggestions (really helpful if you are calling or writing your leaders)
• APSA public statements and letters
• Nancy Bermeo, “On Democratic Backsliding,” Journal of Democracy (2016)
• Timothy Snyder, On Freedom (2024) and On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017)
• Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority: How to Reverse an Authoritarian Turn, and Force a Democracy for All (2024), New Books Interview with Levitsky and Ziblatt by Karyne Messina
• Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die (2018), New Books Interview with Daniel Ziblatt by Jenna Spinelle
• Brendan Nyhan’s work and commentary
• Democratic Erosion Consortium (nonpartisan effort with resources)

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