The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy (urspr publ 2017; utgåvan 2017)

In The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy, Brian Klaas convincingly puts forth the case that Trump and his presidency are laying the groundwork for a creeping authoritarianism that is supplanting America's democratic foundation. Klaas lays out this chilling narrative by identifying the tactics of the world's current despots and those of the recent past, and then shows how the words and actions of Trump and his administration eerily echo those authoritarian strategies: the manipulation of the truth, attacks on the free press, the notion of jailing political opponents and pardoning allies, the scapegoating of minorities, making a mockery of government ethics, etc. And in the few months since the November 2017 publication of this book, there have been even more examples of Trump's troubling behavior that threatens the soft guardrails of our democracy. Though there have been many journalists, editorials, and op-eds sporadically voicing these concerns during the first year of this frightening presidency, this book presents the most comprehensive and compelling case. ( )