The rise of populism, misinformation and violence means that America, as we know it, could never be the same

Two thirds of Americans believe that democracy is under threat. What may once have seemed an unthinkable statement to some has been realised, and there is plenty of evidence that they are right...

• On 6th January 2021, Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election - the ensuing chaos has even been called an attempted insurrection or coup
• The January attack on the US Capitol has continued to inspire more violence, suggesting that lessons have not been learned and only more radicalisation has occurred
• Conspiracy theorists, trolls, and hackers online have more power than ever, with individuals now posing a large threat to democracy
• Over 100 scholars have expressed a warning that attempts to radically change election laws threaten democracy, saying that proposed changes would mean elections were no longer 'free and fair'

In short, the threat to democracy in America is very real and very powerful. If it isn't countered forcefully and effectively, there will be a great price to pay.

Democracy seems pretty fragile in the US at the moment. Whether it is seriously at risk remains to be seen.

Maybe the biggest issue currently faced by the US is the extremity of its two-party divide. Both the Republican and Democratic sides [differ in how they perceive democracy to be under threat] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/20/americans-who-see-democracy-most-risk-republicans/) - which makes proposing solutions very difficult.

• The Republican party are still heavily affiliated with Trump and have done little to combat in-party beliefs that the 2020 election was illegally won. From this perspective, US democracy is under grave threat because Biden's election was fraudulent (even though [tons of info] (https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-claims-explained-805dd3de1c5e8f1a6a97a13bfec39d97) shows that it wasn't.) An extremist Republican might think that democracy will be restored if Trump becomes president again in 2024.

• From a Democratic viewpoint, it is also under threat, though to a lesser extent. The January attack on the Capitol showed the danger of mob mentality alongside widespread misinformed beliefs. From this view, having Trump as president again would mean a leader who is unwilling to accept any election result as legitimate unless he wins it - which is the opposite of democracy.

This party polarisation is, in a way, the result of a more widely egalitarian society. The US has become increasingly more inclusive of marginalised groups like women and people of colour. - And this prompted a swing back of resentment, largely from [those who are used to having a sole seat at the table] (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/multiracial-democracy-55-years-old-will-it-survive/617585/).

• It's significant that the Republican party (and Trump in particular) seems to have very much played into this resentment. The resulting rhetoric is a strongly-felt 'us versus them' mindset.

As to the future of the US as a democratic nation, I think a lot [depends on the Republican party] (https://www.ft.com/content/a2e499d0-10f0-4fa2-8243-e23eedc4f9f4#comments-anchor). It doesn't look great - since the chaos surrounding last year's election, they have done [very little] (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/28/republicans-trying-rewrite-history-capitol-attack) to hold major players accountable.

So, democracy in the US is potentially at risk - especially if Trump does end up in office again in 2024. But I wouldn't say it's a done deal. It's worth noting that the majority of polled Americans are still [in support of democracy] (https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/01/07/US-capitol-trump-poll) & a large majority also oppose politically motivated violence.

Dead things aren't in danger