An American political scientist recently told a rueful joke to explain how he felt about Donald Trump’s effect on the United States’s institutions and its system of liberal democracy. The joke went as follows: a biologist on a beach holiday is stung by a stingray and even as he howls in pain he’s ecstatic to have discovered a new species of the fish.
So too American political scientists. As citizens, many of them are worried about the challenges posed to the constitutional system by Mr Trump’s provocations. But as professionals, political scientists are fascinated to be able to watch, in real time, an unprecedented stress test for American institutions and for the checks and balances that have sustained the nation for 241 years. The question they ask is whether a liberal democracy can survive an elected political leader who challenges it.
Will Mr Trump ultimately manage to discredit the judiciary – one of the three pillars of government – by delegitimising judges who decide cases against the president? Will he prevail upon political appointees to the federal government to follow through on the internationally banned practice of torture for which he has affirmed regard? Will he roll back, as he has threatened, America’s careful separation between church and state? Will the US become a nation of men, rather than, as its second president John Adams hoped, a nation of laws?
These are legitimate questions. There are several examples from across the world map of elected politicians undermining institutions, gutting due process and hollowing out democracies. Mostly, these leaders style themselves as the voice of the people, silencing criticism in a way that leaves the state dependent on one man. (They have mostly been men, though Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner also displayed imperious, markedly anti-media impulses.)
These include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has consciously portrayed himself as the most macho of strongmen and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now barrelling his way towards a vastly more powerful executive presidency. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who helped his country transition from the frozen politics of the Soviet era to liberal democracy, has taken it backwards into an autocratic centralised system that severely limits judicial oversight of legislation and fines private media outlets for “biased” coverage.
It was no coincidence that in July 2014, Mr Orban named Russia and Turkey as his role models to build an “illiberal democracy” in Hungary. It is also hardly coincidental that he, along with presidents Putin and Erdogan, has expressed support for Mr Trump, a compliment that America’s commander-in-chief promptly, and generously, returned.
Mark Malloch-Brown, a former United Nations deputy secretary general, recently described these politicians as “very strong leaders, not always that respectful of the rules of the game … a generation of Caesars” who are replacing bourgeois democracy with their own order.
Mr Malloch-Brown also cited one other “Caesar” – India’s Narendra Modi, who has exacerbated existing communal divisions to advance a polarising majoritarian politics. Interestingly, the Indian prime minister launched his most controversial and arbitrary policy – scrapping 86 per cent of the country’s banknotes – on November 8, the day of the US presidential election.
His critics said Mr Modi’s diktat was high-handed, hasty, ill-planned and cruel, causing enormous misery to millions of poor Indians without credit cards, bank accounts and technical or real literacy to negotiate a cashless society. Indian economic growth is forecast to slow but Mr Modi has, like the other “Caesars”, neither apologised nor explained much beyond questioning the integrity of his critics. According to recent reports in the Indian press, his government is said to have assembled a dedicated team of intelligence officers to identify “antinational” journalists.
In a funny way though, in India – an infant democracy compared with venerable America – there are some signs that the system that brought “Caesar” to power may eventually rein him in. Elections are under way in five Indian states and their results will be declared on March 11. Two of the states that have already voted – Punjab in the north and Goa in the west – had near-record turnouts, which some interpret as a profound desire for change, if not to send a message to those in charge. In both states, Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies are in power and the upstart anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party may benefit if enough voters disapprove of the prime minister’s actions.
This brings us back to the original question anxiously, if avidly, being asked by political scientists. Can the American system prevent presidential overreach and will it survive a leader who repeatedly sets out to undermine its norms and rules? Like the Indian state elections, if they serve as a reality check for the BJP, will the 2018 midterms prove to be a sobering reminder to Mr Trump that power is not a permanent state of being?
It depends. MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, who co-wrote Why Nations Fail, is worried.
The 2012 book examined conundrums such as why the Korean Peninsula has one rich well-run country and another that is poor and repressed. The problem with elected leaders who undermine democracy, Acemoglu recently said, is that unlike tinpot dictators, they “have a much higher degree of legitimacy among some segments of the population”.
The perils of democracy were never so present.
Rashmee Roshan Lall is a writer on world affairs
On Twitter: @rashmeerl
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
