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...
"Two prison terms, a collapsed marriage, and permanent exile" is not enough.
February 19, 2026 at 3:53 AM
"Two prison terms, a collapsed marriage, and permanent exile" is not enough.
Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser
Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ...
Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?
Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:
tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf
Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?
Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:
tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf
February 16, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ...
Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?
Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:
tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf
Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?
Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:
tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf
If the Trump administration is brazen enough to close a major airport without notification and without reason, just imagine all the horrible things they are not being transparent about. It will take a generation to uncover all their dirty secrets.
Breaking News: The FAA halted all flights to and from the El Paso airport in Texas for 10 days, citing unspecified security reasons.
F.A.A. Halts All Flights at El Paso Airport for 10 Days
No flights would be allowed to or from the airport for 10 days under a flight restriction order that cited unspecified “special security reasons.”
nyti.ms
February 11, 2026 at 12:29 PM
If the Trump administration is brazen enough to close a major airport without notification and without reason, just imagine all the horrible things they are not being transparent about. It will take a generation to uncover all their dirty secrets.
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.
Has his measure been around long? The methodology does not provide much detail.
Because I merely wondered when the other cases were coded? Could easily be a recency bias to the US result.
Because I merely wondered when the other cases were coded? Could easily be a recency bias to the US result.
February 1, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Has his measure been around long? The methodology does not provide much detail.
Because I merely wondered when the other cases were coded? Could easily be a recency bias to the US result.
Because I merely wondered when the other cases were coded? Could easily be a recency bias to the US result.
Schumer and Jefferies reading your post…
two men are standing next to each other with the word never written on the wall behind them
ALT: two men are standing next to each other with the word never written on the wall behind them
media.tenor.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Schumer and Jefferies reading your post…
Little Giants energy from this fucknuckle.
January 27, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Little Giants energy from this fucknuckle.
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.
Actually, it was just two sorry,
1) Mass subscription (and unsubscription) pledges for legacy media. So try to use collective bargaining to get them to lift their coverage of Trump’s authoritarianism.
2) Mass social media deactivation month for those companies aligned to Trump. Try hurt them.
1) Mass subscription (and unsubscription) pledges for legacy media. So try to use collective bargaining to get them to lift their coverage of Trump’s authoritarianism.
2) Mass social media deactivation month for those companies aligned to Trump. Try hurt them.
January 20, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Actually, it was just two sorry,
1) Mass subscription (and unsubscription) pledges for legacy media. So try to use collective bargaining to get them to lift their coverage of Trump’s authoritarianism.
2) Mass social media deactivation month for those companies aligned to Trump. Try hurt them.
1) Mass subscription (and unsubscription) pledges for legacy media. So try to use collective bargaining to get them to lift their coverage of Trump’s authoritarianism.
2) Mass social media deactivation month for those companies aligned to Trump. Try hurt them.
I wrote about those same experiences here. Originally had ten lessons, but editor cut it back.
bsky.app/profile/lmor...
bsky.app/profile/lmor...
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
January 20, 2026 at 10:03 PM
I wrote about those same experiences here. Originally had ten lessons, but editor cut it back.
bsky.app/profile/lmor...
bsky.app/profile/lmor...
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?
While I am of course much younger and more handsome than Tom, I too would take said training course.
January 14, 2026 at 10:23 PM
While I am of course much younger and more handsome than Tom, I too would take said training course.
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...