Column: Our republic, if we can keep it

I grew up fascinated by the field of international relations. An avid follower of politics in a politically divided household, I could count on international politics as a much easier place (certainly compared to Texan politics!) to find common ground.

And so I grew up sparring over the dinner table and scanning the daily paper for places where peace triumphed through diplomacy.

I was always fascinated by one thorny trend in this field: Illiberal democracy. A term coined by Fareed Zakaria in 1997, it describes the spectres of nations that hold elections but which are not free. Governments are elected but may control the press, compromise judicial independence, discriminate against minorities and fail to protect the personal liberties of all citizens.

Certainly, the U.S. grapples with deep moral issues in living up to its ideals of freedom and equality. But I never thought I would ask myself: Is America in danger of becoming an illiberal democracy?

Yet it would be recklessly irresponsible to simply continue analyzing other governments and critiquing abstract concepts without acknowledging this imminent threat on our own turf. That threat is the candidacy of Donald Trump.

Illiberality within democratic governments has been in vogue for many leaders lately.

Following waves of resurgent authoritarian tendencies and nationalist, protectionist policies, it’s evident in many governing styles. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban openly championed this after his last election, saying: “I don’t think that our European Union membership precludes us from building an illiberal new state.”

We see the same in Turkey, a longstanding democracy. The Economist in 2015 wrote that “Mr. Erdogan’s victory leaves Turkey looking increasingly like ... other illiberal democracies, where popular strongmen cow institutions and dominate a weak, divided opposition.”

These statements pale in comparison to the threats made by our Republican presidential nominee, Mr. Trump. Rather than stating his intentions after election, a wholehearted embrace of illiberality is his very strategy.

Trump threatened to jail his opponent should he be elected, saying, “You’d be in jail.” This is an open brag that he’d violate the independence of our judiciary. After the final debate, he declared that he would accept the results of the election only “if I win.” That’s a threat to the linchpin of our democratic process: peaceful transitions of power.

Last year, Trump called to ban all Muslims from the U.S., in clear violation of our First Amendment.

If we read of any presidential candidate, anywhere in the world, who threatened to jail his opponents, to not concede if he lost, to target religious minorities and to disrespect the rights of women, we’d be right to call that proposed presidency decidedly illiberal.

But now, we have to ask: How has that illiberality been the bedrock of a major, popular campaign in a liberal democracy? I believe we’ll be wrestling with that question for a while.