Lee Morgenbesser
@lmorgenbesser.bsky.social
Political Scientist, Griffith University | Fellow, Australian Research Council | Authoritarian politics, democratization, dictators, election observation, Southeast Asian politics.
Pinned
Has the Trump resistance been too passive? Here are 7 ways to effectively protest authoritarian rule
The ‘No Kings’ protests have been important, but smaller, more sustained acts of resistance have proven successful in other countries around the world.
theconversation.com
PUBLISHED! My latest piece addresses the inactivity and passivity of the anti-Trump resistance. From my vantage point, it is not doing enough 🫣
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
In case anyone is still wondering whether the United States has transitioned to authoritarian rule, I previously listed funding foreign think tanks as 1 of the 20 modern techniques of autocratic innovation. Paper available here -
61eb8c0a-6652-49a6-902e-3063f76b517e.filesusr.com/ugd/ca20d0_a...
61eb8c0a-6652-49a6-902e-3063f76b517e.filesusr.com/ugd/ca20d0_a...
February 6, 2026 at 12:25 AM
In case anyone is still wondering whether the United States has transitioned to authoritarian rule, I previously listed funding foreign think tanks as 1 of the 20 modern techniques of autocratic innovation. Paper available here -
61eb8c0a-6652-49a6-902e-3063f76b517e.filesusr.com/ugd/ca20d0_a...
61eb8c0a-6652-49a6-902e-3063f76b517e.filesusr.com/ugd/ca20d0_a...
I give it less than three months before CBP/ICE are authorized to quell mass demonstrations (under the pretext that such demonstrations are disrupting immigration enforcement operations). Many innocent people will die.
Q: We've seen ICE draw guns on Americans who are not protesters. We're seen people pulled out of their houses. Do you think ICE & CBP needs to change their tactics?
JOHNSON: I have great trust in the leadership of DHS. You need a steady hand at the wheel. I think Tom Homan is a great guy to do that
JOHNSON: I have great trust in the leadership of DHS. You need a steady hand at the wheel. I think Tom Homan is a great guy to do that
February 4, 2026 at 3:19 AM
I give it less than three months before CBP/ICE are authorized to quell mass demonstrations (under the pretext that such demonstrations are disrupting immigration enforcement operations). Many innocent people will die.
We had three papers under review in APSR, AJPS, and JoP & every time a new tranche of reviews came in they just magically whittled away until they were rejected. It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove it? No.
Mike Johnson on Trump calling for Rs to "nationalize" elections: "We had 3 Republicans who were ahead on election day in last cycle & every time a new tranche of ballots came in they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove it? No"
February 3, 2026 at 8:59 PM
We had three papers under review in APSR, AJPS, and JoP & every time a new tranche of reviews came in they just magically whittled away until they were rejected. It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove it? No.
The fact there are infinitely more people discussing the Epstein files (which Trump has been removed from) than participating in a spontaneous protest at the Kennedy Center (which Trump is going to destroy and plunder) says everything about the state of authoritarian rule in the United States.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will close for roughly two years to allow for extensive renovations, President Donald Trump said. https://cnn.it/3LLBKTp
February 2, 2026 at 12:24 AM
The fact there are infinitely more people discussing the Epstein files (which Trump has been removed from) than participating in a spontaneous protest at the Kennedy Center (which Trump is going to destroy and plunder) says everything about the state of authoritarian rule in the United States.
Does this also mean the media is going to stop making awful comparisons between Trump’s America and Orban’s Hungary? What about Erdogan’s Turkey? Modi’s India?
So much unhelpful analysis of non-democracy in recent years.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
So much unhelpful analysis of non-democracy in recent years.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Yes, It’s Fascism
Until recently, I thought it a term best avoided. But now, the resemblances are too many and too strong to deny.
www.theatlantic.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Does this also mean the media is going to stop making awful comparisons between Trump’s America and Orban’s Hungary? What about Erdogan’s Turkey? Modi’s India?
So much unhelpful analysis of non-democracy in recent years.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
So much unhelpful analysis of non-democracy in recent years.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser
"The media tends to treat Trump's more insane statements as ephemeral, but then turns around and treats his climb-downs as binding....This is a mistake, and a dangerous one....It's a form of sane-washing....It contributes to the authoritarian's progress."
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-me...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-me...
How the Media Fails With Trump. Over and Over. (And Over.)
Plus: The people of Minneapolis are amazing.
www.thebulwark.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:50 PM
"The media tends to treat Trump's more insane statements as ephemeral, but then turns around and treats his climb-downs as binding....This is a mistake, and a dangerous one....It's a form of sane-washing....It contributes to the authoritarian's progress."
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-me...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-me...
I really think there needs to spontaneous protests against ICE happening right now in front of every federal building in the country and especially in Washington D.C. Otherwise those opposed to the Trump administration will not gain enough momentum or control the narrative.
January 24, 2026 at 11:12 PM
I really think there needs to spontaneous protests against ICE happening right now in front of every federal building in the country and especially in Washington D.C. Otherwise those opposed to the Trump administration will not gain enough momentum or control the narrative.
No one told me we were going by country, rather than by individual. I proudly stand by my list! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER.
January 23, 2026 at 2:55 AM
No one told me we were going by country, rather than by individual. I proudly stand by my list! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER.
In announcing the final makeup of the board, Trump highlighted how Putin will be joined by other distinguished individuals, including
Genghis Khan
King Leopold II
Caligula
Pol Pot
Lucky Luciano
Curtis LeMay
Tony Blair
Sauron
Hernán Cortés
Count Dracula
Benito Mussolini
Henry Kissinger
Thanos
Genghis Khan
King Leopold II
Caligula
Pol Pot
Lucky Luciano
Curtis LeMay
Tony Blair
Sauron
Hernán Cortés
Count Dracula
Benito Mussolini
Henry Kissinger
Thanos
January 19, 2026 at 11:40 AM
In announcing the final makeup of the board, Trump highlighted how Putin will be joined by other distinguished individuals, including
Genghis Khan
King Leopold II
Caligula
Pol Pot
Lucky Luciano
Curtis LeMay
Tony Blair
Sauron
Hernán Cortés
Count Dracula
Benito Mussolini
Henry Kissinger
Thanos
Genghis Khan
King Leopold II
Caligula
Pol Pot
Lucky Luciano
Curtis LeMay
Tony Blair
Sauron
Hernán Cortés
Count Dracula
Benito Mussolini
Henry Kissinger
Thanos
America is afflicted by a rare combination: early-stage authoritarianism, but with a late-stage dictator. Think El Salvador today ruled by a crazy Papa Doc Duvalier.
While chaos is the defining feature of this struggle, pro-democratic forces can still prevail…
www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...
While chaos is the defining feature of this struggle, pro-democratic forces can still prevail…
www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...
January 18, 2026 at 11:27 AM
America is afflicted by a rare combination: early-stage authoritarianism, but with a late-stage dictator. Think El Salvador today ruled by a crazy Papa Doc Duvalier.
While chaos is the defining feature of this struggle, pro-democratic forces can still prevail…
www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...
While chaos is the defining feature of this struggle, pro-democratic forces can still prevail…
www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...
Any far superior writers out there who want to present their Pulitzer Prize to me? Will go to a happy home.
a man in a suit and tie with a name tag that says mr bean on it
ALT: a man in a suit and tie with a name tag that says mr bean on it
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Any far superior writers out there who want to present their Pulitzer Prize to me? Will go to a happy home.
Has any country ever been in both a civil war (say Minneapolis) and a foreign war (say Greenland, Iran, or Venezuela) at the same time?
January 15, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Has any country ever been in both a civil war (say Minneapolis) and a foreign war (say Greenland, Iran, or Venezuela) at the same time?
The worst opposition party in the history of democratic backsliding.
Q: Is it your posture to put restrictions on ICE as a condition for funding DHS?
JEFFRIES: Renee Good should be alive. There was no justification. There are common sense measures that need to put in place so ICE can conduct itself in manner at least consistent w/ every other law enforcement agency
JEFFRIES: Renee Good should be alive. There was no justification. There are common sense measures that need to put in place so ICE can conduct itself in manner at least consistent w/ every other law enforcement agency
January 13, 2026 at 12:58 AM
The worst opposition party in the history of democratic backsliding.
I’d add that when regimes are transitioning to authoritarian rule, the government faces the problem of transmitting propaganda without having sufficient control of the media.
So calling an innocent women a left-wing agitator strikes people as outlandish. It fails to sow enough cognitive dissonance.
So calling an innocent women a left-wing agitator strikes people as outlandish. It fails to sow enough cognitive dissonance.
“If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer… And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind…And with such a people you can then do what you please.”
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
January 9, 2026 at 12:14 PM
I’d add that when regimes are transitioning to authoritarian rule, the government faces the problem of transmitting propaganda without having sufficient control of the media.
So calling an innocent women a left-wing agitator strikes people as outlandish. It fails to sow enough cognitive dissonance.
So calling an innocent women a left-wing agitator strikes people as outlandish. It fails to sow enough cognitive dissonance.
I wrote this article about ICE becoming a secret police force in April last year. It is crucial to the Trump administration’s repressive apparatus.
The murder of Renee Good is a sad, infuriating, and yet entirely inevitable event. She won’t be the last 🤬
theconversation.com/how-ice-is-b...
The murder of Renee Good is a sad, infuriating, and yet entirely inevitable event. She won’t be the last 🤬
theconversation.com/how-ice-is-b...
How ICE is becoming a secret police force under the Trump administration
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement meets most criteria that have defined secret police forces in authoritarian regimes. And the worst may be yet to come.
theconversation.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:40 PM
I wrote this article about ICE becoming a secret police force in April last year. It is crucial to the Trump administration’s repressive apparatus.
The murder of Renee Good is a sad, infuriating, and yet entirely inevitable event. She won’t be the last 🤬
theconversation.com/how-ice-is-b...
The murder of Renee Good is a sad, infuriating, and yet entirely inevitable event. She won’t be the last 🤬
theconversation.com/how-ice-is-b...
What happens next?
Trump admin does not recognise Delcy Rodriguez (or removes her from office)
Announces Venezuela’s constitution is abolished
Trump declares himself the country’s ruler
Holds a Saddam-style referendum on his rule (>90 percent of the vote)
Demands to be officially called emperor
Trump admin does not recognise Delcy Rodriguez (or removes her from office)
Announces Venezuela’s constitution is abolished
Trump declares himself the country’s ruler
Holds a Saddam-style referendum on his rule (>90 percent of the vote)
Demands to be officially called emperor
January 5, 2026 at 9:38 PM
What happens next?
Trump admin does not recognise Delcy Rodriguez (or removes her from office)
Announces Venezuela’s constitution is abolished
Trump declares himself the country’s ruler
Holds a Saddam-style referendum on his rule (>90 percent of the vote)
Demands to be officially called emperor
Trump admin does not recognise Delcy Rodriguez (or removes her from office)
Announces Venezuela’s constitution is abolished
Trump declares himself the country’s ruler
Holds a Saddam-style referendum on his rule (>90 percent of the vote)
Demands to be officially called emperor
America has so clearly betrayed its self-proclaimed exceptionalism that it has nothing left to offer the world
You cannot be a unique experiment or an exemplar nation or on a divine mission when you are just like every other belligerent empire that has risen and fallen
Begone to your dictatorship
You cannot be a unique experiment or an exemplar nation or on a divine mission when you are just like every other belligerent empire that has risen and fallen
Begone to your dictatorship
January 3, 2026 at 10:16 AM
America has so clearly betrayed its self-proclaimed exceptionalism that it has nothing left to offer the world
You cannot be a unique experiment or an exemplar nation or on a divine mission when you are just like every other belligerent empire that has risen and fallen
Begone to your dictatorship
You cannot be a unique experiment or an exemplar nation or on a divine mission when you are just like every other belligerent empire that has risen and fallen
Begone to your dictatorship
Some strong New Light of Myanmar vibes coming from CBS Evening News these days.
January 2, 2026 at 11:16 PM
Some strong New Light of Myanmar vibes coming from CBS Evening News these days.
So easy…
From Consultants with Love
Consultants are Forever
The Consultant with the Golden Gun
Consulpussy
Consultant Never Dies
Quantum of Consultants
From Consultants with Love
Consultants are Forever
The Consultant with the Golden Gun
Consulpussy
Consultant Never Dies
Quantum of Consultants
Make a Bond movie academic
Tenure is Forever
Tenure is Forever
Make a Bond movie casual
From Russia with Best Wishes
From Russia with Best Wishes
December 26, 2025 at 11:32 PM
So easy…
From Consultants with Love
Consultants are Forever
The Consultant with the Golden Gun
Consulpussy
Consultant Never Dies
Quantum of Consultants
From Consultants with Love
Consultants are Forever
The Consultant with the Golden Gun
Consulpussy
Consultant Never Dies
Quantum of Consultants
Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser
The ‘No Kings’ protests have been important, but smaller, more sustained acts of resistance have proven successful in other countries around the world.
👉 theconversation.com/has-the...
👉 theconversation.com/has-the...
December 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The ‘No Kings’ protests have been important, but smaller, more sustained acts of resistance have proven successful in other countries around the world.
👉 theconversation.com/has-the...
👉 theconversation.com/has-the...
Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser
PUBLISHED! My latest piece addresses the inactivity and passivity of the anti-Trump resistance. From my vantage point, it is not doing enough 🫣
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
Has the Trump resistance been too passive? Here are 7 ways to effectively protest authoritarian rule
The ‘No Kings’ protests have been important, but smaller, more sustained acts of resistance have proven successful in other countries around the world.
theconversation.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:35 PM
PUBLISHED! My latest piece addresses the inactivity and passivity of the anti-Trump resistance. From my vantage point, it is not doing enough 🫣
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
PUBLISHED! My latest piece addresses the inactivity and passivity of the anti-Trump resistance. From my vantage point, it is not doing enough 🫣
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
Has the Trump resistance been too passive? Here are 7 ways to effectively protest authoritarian rule
The ‘No Kings’ protests have been important, but smaller, more sustained acts of resistance have proven successful in other countries around the world.
theconversation.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:35 PM
PUBLISHED! My latest piece addresses the inactivity and passivity of the anti-Trump resistance. From my vantage point, it is not doing enough 🫣
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
I highlight seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.
theconversation.com/has-the-trum...
Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser
Happy to announce that I have received an @erc.europa.eu Consolidator grant for the project "Authoritarian Threats to Scientific Knowledge". AutoKnow will study how authoritarian regimes and politics affect scientific progress, contents and topics in different fields.
www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/...
www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/...
Large EU-grant to Tore Wig to study the state of science in autocracies
- Department of Political Science
Will scientific progress slow down if more countries in the world become autocratic? That is one of the questions political science professor Tore Wig will seek to answer with two million euros from t...
www.sv.uio.no
December 9, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Happy to announce that I have received an @erc.europa.eu Consolidator grant for the project "Authoritarian Threats to Scientific Knowledge". AutoKnow will study how authoritarian regimes and politics affect scientific progress, contents and topics in different fields.
www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/...
www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/...
A bet these guys would have been great friends.
December 2, 2025 at 10:19 PM
A bet these guys would have been great friends.