American
democracy, as many scholars and observers argue, no longer functions as a
genuine democracy. What remains is a symbolic shell — a façade masking a
political infrastructure that has been hollowed out by decades of hyper‑partisanship,
corporate capture, institutional decay, and authoritarian drift. The United
States today resembles a late‑stage empire coasting on historical momentum,
much like Rome after the Crisis of the
Third Century, where imperial
institutions still existed but meaningful governance of the Empire had
collapsed under the combined pressures of political instability, extreme
inflation, foreign wars and foreign invasions, and the plague.
The
American decline did not begin with the election of Donald Trump to the US
presidency. His rise was a symptom
of a system already damaged and in freefall. But his open admiration for
authoritarian rulers, his willingness to subvert democratic norms, and his
consolidation of power among billionaire oligarchs and right wing extremist networks
(the MAGA movement) accelerated
a process that had been underway for years. And for Canadians, the implications
are profound. When the largest democracy in the Western alliance collapses into
full‑blown authoritarianism, Canada will not be insulated. It will be engulfed
— politically, economically, and culturally.
The long
decline of American democracy
Political scientists have documented the erosion of US democratic norms for decades, but particularly in the 21st century. A 2023 study by the Brookings Institution describes the United States as experiencing early‑stage democratic decline, marked by weakened judicial constraints, executive overreach, and partisan sabotage of accountability institutions. This is fuelled by the fact that since 2010, state legislatures instituted laws intended to reduce voters’ access to the ballot, politicize election administration, and foreclose electoral competition via extreme gerrymandering of electoral districts. The United States also saw substantial expansions of executive power and serious efforts to erode the independence of the civil service.
Added to
this is the issue of political polarization, which is central to this decline.
Pew Research Center reports that partisan
animosity in the US has reached historic highs, with majorities in both
parties viewing the other as immoral, dishonest, unpatriotic and a threat to
the nation. This is not merely cultural hostility—it is structural. When
political actors no longer value democracy for its own sake, institutions become
weapons to hammer opponents.
The Republican Party’s radicalization is well‑documented.
Numerous analyses and studies since the 2020 presidential election have warned
that the GOP’s refusal to acknowledge Joe Biden’s legitimate election and its
abandonment of peaceful power transfer norms pose an “existential
threat” to US democracy.
Democrats,
meanwhile, have often failed
to defend democratic norms with sufficient force. Their technocratic
instincts—described in political‑science literature as “managerial liberalism”—have
led them to prioritize bureaucratic stability over structural reform. They have
not been the “adults in the room” they claim to be. They have been caretakers
of a decaying system.
The American
Empire’s unraveling: The Iraq War and beyond
The
decline of American democracy is inseparable from the decline of American
global hegemony.
The 2003
invasion of Iraq exposed the limits of US military power and shattered
international trust. The 2008 financial crisis further undermined global
confidence in the American economic model, revealing deep structural
vulnerabilities and accelerating domestic polarization. Political economists
have shown that when institutions fail to deliver shared prosperity, anti‑pluralist
movements gain legitimacy. A 2026 review in the Journal of Economic
Literature argues that institutional failure and identity‑driven
polarization interact to erode democratic guardrails.
After 2010, the collapse accelerated with extreme
partisan gerrymandering entrenching minority rule; Citizens United unleashing
unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns; and Congressional
gridlock becoming permanent.
Freedom
House marks 2016 as the beginning of a measurable decline in US political
rights and civil liberties.
The fascist
drift: Symbols without substance
Today,
the United States still displays the outward symbols of democracy — elections,
courts, legislatures, and the ceremonial rituals of democratic governance — yet
the substance beneath these institutions has been steadily hollowed out. The
country increasingly resembles a political system where democratic forms
persist but democratic norms have eroded. This erosion is visible in the
conduct of its leadership, its security apparatus, its militaristic posture,
and the overwhelming influence of corporate oligarchs—patterns that echo the
situation in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
The most
visible and troubling example is the country’s political leadership—Donald
Trump. He has repeatedly expressed admiration
for authoritarian rulers, praising figures such as Vladimir Putin, Xi
Jinping, and Kim Jong Un, and others. This is not a trivial matter of
rhetorical excess but a signal that Trump sees democratic constraints as
weaknesses rather than safeguards. At the same time, American militarism has
become a defining feature of national identity. Since 2001, the United States
has engaged in continuous warfare across multiple regions, attacking eight
countries in Asia and Africa, projecting force abroad while failing to maintain
democratic resilience at home.
Domestically,
the internal security apparatus has also drifted toward authoritarian
practices. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) has been documented
committing hundreds
of abuses and human rights violations, including: engaging in abusive
detention practices, wrongfully detaining US citizens, and deaths of
civilians and detainees, including dozens who have died in ICE detention
facilities. These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a system where
accountability has weakened and state power is increasingly exercised without
restraint.
Overlaying
all of this is the immense influence of corporate and billionaire oligarchs.
Unlimited campaign spending — enabled by decisions such as Citizens United
— has allowed billionaires
and corporations to shape political outcomes, policy agendas, and
legislative priorities in ways that serve elite interests rather than
democratic ones. The result is a political system where wealth, not
citizenship, determines access to power. These developments are hallmarks of a
state drifting toward authoritarianism, even if the democratic façade remains
intact.
Canada’s
drift toward authoritarianism and its US roots
Canada is
not immune to these trends. In fact, Canada’s democratic erosion is
increasingly linked to US oligarchic and political influence. The gravitational
pull of American politics—especially as the US drifts toward oligarchic
authoritarianism—has begun reshaping Canada’s political landscape in profound
ways.
The
Canadian Conservative Party has adopted strategies and narratives that closely
mirror those of the US Republican Party. Culture‑war rhetoric, attacks on
independent media, hostility toward climate science, and alignment with US
billionaire‑funded think tanks have become increasingly common. Research shows
that Canadian
conservative messaging now mirrors US Republican narratives, amplified by
cross‑border political networks and shared donors. This is not simply
ideological convergence, it is a structural importation of American political
tactics into Canada’s political culture.
Yet the
Liberals are not innocent in this drift. Under Mark Carney—a former global
finance executive deeply embedded in elite economic networks—the party has
moved toward a technocratic centrism aligned
with corporate and billionaire interests. Canadian political scientists
have documented the Liberals’ close ties to Bay Street finance, the influence
of multinational corporations on policy formation, and a weakening commitment
to climate action and human rights. They also note an increasing reliance on
private‑sector advisory groups, which further entrenches elite influence over
public policy. A campaign launched by Democracy Watch warns that
both major parties are increasingly shaped by elite economic actors whose interests
diverge from those of the general population.
This
bipartisan drift toward elite capture is reinforced by US oligarchic networks
that exert direct influence on Canadian politics. American tech billionaires
have shaped Canadian digital policy debates; cross‑border fossil‑fuel lobbying
has influenced Canadian climate legislation; American political consultants
have advised Canadian political campaigns; and US dark‑money networks have
funded Canadian advocacy groups. A 2023 investigation by The Narwhal
documented US oil‑industry
funding of Canadian political organizations opposing climate regulation.
These developments are not accidental. They are structural consequences of
Canada’s proximity to a superpower undergoing democratic collapse.
Why Canadians
should be alarmed
Canada’s
fate is tied to the United States in ways that make American democratic decline
a direct threat to Canadian stability. Economically, Canada is deeply
integrated with the US, and any authoritarian instability south of the border
would produce immediate and severe economic shockwaves in Canada, as we have
seen with Trump’s tariff war. Politically, US authoritarian narratives spread
easily across the border, influencing Canadian discourse and reshaping partisan
identities. Corporate capture is also a shared phenomenon, where US oligarchs
influence Canadian policy through cross‑border investments and multinational
corporate structures.
Security
risks are equally significant. A destabilized United States—politically,
socially, or institutionally—poses direct threats to Canadian sovereignty,
border stability, and national security. And beyond bilateral concerns, the
collapse of the United States would destabilize the entire Western democratic
alliance. If the US falls, the democratic world loses its keystone.
Canada is
drifting toward authoritarianism not only because of domestic political
choices, but because it is tethered to a superpower undergoing democratic
collapse. The erosion of democracy in the United States is not a distant
problem. It is a direct and immediate threat to Canadian political stability,
democratic norms, and national sovereignty.
American
democracy is no longer a functioning system. It is a veneer—a symbolic shell
covering a political infrastructure that has been rotting for decades. Hyper‑partisanship,
corporate capture, institutional decay, and authoritarian drift have
transformed the United States into a nation where democratic norms are
optional.
Canada is
drifting in the same direction albeit at a slower pace—not only because of
domestic political failures, but because US oligarchic and political networks
exert enormous influence over Canadian politics.
If the
largest democratic domino falls, Canada will not remain standing. The veneer is
cracking, and Canadians must pay attention and prepare before it shatters.
© 2026 The View From Here. © 2026 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
