What do the coup attempt in Turkey, Donald Trump’s US presidential
candidacy, the Brexit referendum, and the rise of populist parties in
France, Germany, and elsewhere have in common? They all reflect deep
anxieties among many citizens about the functioning of their democracies
and the openness of their societies.
BERLIN – The
short-lived coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
failed in large part because Turks poured into the streets in their tens
of thousand to oppose a military takeover of their country. The fact
that so many would willingly risk their lives for what they perceived as
their “democracy” speaks well of their courage. But it is also likely
to reinforce Erdoğan’s troublesome understanding of what democracy is: a
form of government in which the will of a popular majority is fully
represented by him, and is to be implemented by him without regard for
institutional or legal constraints.
Donald
Trump’s campaign for the American presidency also seems to draw on this
understanding of democracy. His recent praise of torture, his calls to
exclude all Muslims from entering the United States, and his attempted
intimidation of a federal judge all speak to a contempt for law as a
limit on what he believes a majority of Americans really want...''
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