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Five Questions with Authoritarianism Expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Joyce Vance

May 4

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Last November, we first discussed Trump’s “Project 2025” plan in this post, Frogs Boiled. We were just learning, inexplicably, that there was a publicly available “plan” for Trump’s second term and it was unmistakably the design of an authoritarian. About the plan, the Washington Post had just written that “Trump and his allies have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations.” The problem has not gone away since then.

We turned our focus to this issue again this week with a more detailed overview of Project 2025 and an update on what Trump has been saying out loud that confirms the anti-democratic approach he would take if reelected. Tonight we are joined by noted authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat for a deeper dive.

Ruth is a Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy protection. You’ve probably seen her on MSNBC, where she is called upon frequently because of her expertise. She publishes Lucid, a Substack newsletter on threats to democracy in the U.S. and abroad. Her latest book, “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” examines how illiberal leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century. In other words, exactly the expertise we need to advance our understanding in this critical moment.

Five Questions is the only part of Civil Discourse that is limited to paid subscribers. The rest of the newsletters are available to free subscribers as well. This feature is my way of thanking those who are able to support my work financially, which lets me devote more time and resources to it. I’m appreciative of everyone who is here at Civil Discourse.