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https://verfassungsblog.de/the-authoritarian-regime-survival-guide/

26 March 2018
The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide

The text below, dubbed the Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide, was published in social media in January 2017 in a series of improvised, spontaneous tweets, which reached 3 million views within one month. Their common element was their trademark signature, - With love, your Eastern European friends, and the accompanying hashtag #LearnFromEurope.

The Guide went viral in the US and many other countries, being translated into several languages, from Turkish to Filipino. It was printed on placards during anti-Trump protests, studied at two American universities, quoted by CNBCs Joy Reid on national TV and recommended by former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

Excerpts and summaries were published by various on-line media, but this is the first time it is published as a whole.

YEAR 1 Under Authoritarianism
What to Expect?

1. They will come to power with a campaign based on fear, scaremongering and distorting the truth. Nevertheless, their victory will be achieved through a democratic electoral process. But beware, as this will be their argument every time you question the legitimacy of their actions. They will claim a mandate from the People to change the system.

Remember gaining power through a democratic system does not give them permission to cross legal boundaries and undermine said democracy.

2. They will divide and rule. Their strength lies in unity, in one voice and one ideology, and so should yours. They will call their supporters Patriots, the only true Americans. You will be labelled as traitors, enemies of the state, unpatriotic, the corrupt elite, the old regime trying to regain power. Their supporters will be the People, the sovereign who chose their leaders.

Dont let them divide you remember youre one People, one Nation, with one common good.

3. They will subjugate state media, turning them into a propaganda tube. Then, through convoluted laws and threats they will attempt to control all mainstream media and limit press freedom. They will ban critical press from their briefings, calling them liars, fake news. They will brand those media as unpatriotic, acting against the People (see point 2).

Fight for every media outlet, every journalist that is being banned, censored, sacked or labelled an enemy of the state theres no hope for freedom where there is no free press.

4. They will create chaos, maintain a constant sense of conflict and danger. It will be their argument to enact new authoritarian laws, each one further limiting your freedoms and civil liberties. They will disguise them as being for your protection, for the good of the People.

See through the chaos, the fake danger, expose it before you wake up in a totalitarian, fascist state.

5. They will distort the truth, deny facts and blatantly lie. They will try to make you forget what facts are, sedate your need to find the truth. They will feed post-truths and alternative facts, replace knowledge and logic with emotions and fiction.

Always think critically, fact-check and point out the truth, expose ignorance with facts.

6. They will incite and then leak fake, superficial scandals. They will smear opposition with trivial accusations, blowing them out of proportion and then feeding the flame. This is just smokescreen for the legal steps they will be taking towards totalitarianism.

See through superficial topics in mainstream media (see point 3) and focus on what they are actually doing.

7. They will propose shocking laws to provoke your outrage. You will focus your efforts on fighting them, so they will seemingly back off, giving you a false sense of victory. In the meantime they will push through less flashy legislation, slowly dismantling democracy (see points 4 and 6)

Focus your fight on what really matters.

8. When invading your liberal sensibilities they will focus on what hurts the most women and minorities. They will act as if democracy was majority rule without respect for the minority. They will paint foreigners and immigrants as potential threats. Racial, religious, sexual and other minorities will become enemies to the order and security they are supposedly providing. They will challenge womens social status, undermine gender equality and interfere with reproductive rights (see point 7). But it means they are aware of the threat women and minorities pose to their rule, so make it your strength.

Women and minorities have to be ready to fight the hardest reminding the majority what true democracy is about and you must fight together with them.

9. They will try to take control of the judiciary. They will assault your highest court. They need to remove the checks and balances to be able to push through unconstitutional legislation. Controlling the judiciary they can also threat anyone that defies them with prosecution, including the press (see point 3).

Preserve the independence of your courts at all cost, they are your safety valve, the safeguard of the rule of law and the democratic system.

10. They will try to limit freedom of assembly, calling it a necessity for your security. They will enact laws prioritizing state events and rallies, or those of a certain type or ideology. If they can choose who can demonstrate legally, they have a legal basis to forcefully disperse or prosecute the rest.

Oppose any legislation attempting to interfere with freedom of assembly, for whatever reason.

11. They will distort the language, coin new terms and labels, repeat shocking phrases until you accept them as normal and subconsciously associate them with whom they like. A thief, liar or traitor will automatically mean the opposition, while a patriot or a true American will mean their follower (see point 2). Their slogans will have double meaning, giving strength to their supporters and instilling angst in their opponents.

Fight changes in language in the public sphere, remind and preserve the true meaning of words.

12. They will take over your national symbols, associate them with their regime, remake them into attributes of their power. They want you to forget that your flag, your anthem and your symbols belong to you, the People, to everyone equally. Dont let them be hijacked. Use and expose them in your fight as much as they do.

Show your national symbols with pride, let them give you strength, not associate you with the tyranny they brought onto your country.

13. They will try to rewrite history to suit their needs and use the education system to support their agenda. They will smear any historical or living figure who wouldnt approve of their actions, or distort their image to make you think they would. They will place emphasis on historical education in schools, feeding young minds with the only correct version of history and philosophy. They will raise a new generation of voters on their ideology, backing it with a distorted interpretation of history and view of the world.

Guard the education of your children, teach them critical thinking, ensure their open-mindedness and protect your real history and heritage.

14. They will alienate foreign allies and partners, convincing you dont need them. They wont care for the rest of the world, with their focus on making your country great again. While ruining your economy to fulfil their populist promises, they will omit the fact that youre part of a bigger world whose development depends on cooperation, on sharing and on trade.

Dont let them build walls promising you security instead of bridges giving you prosperity.

15. They will eventually manipulate the electoral system. They might say its to correct flaws, to make it more fair, more similar to the rest of the world, or just to make it better. Dont believe it. They wouldnt be messing with it at all if it wasnt to benefit them in some way.

Oppose any changes to electoral law that an authoritarian regime wants to enact rest assured its only to help them remain in power longer.
And above all, be strong, fight, endure, and remember youre on the good side of history.

EVERY authoritarian, totalitarian and fascist regime in history eventually failed, thanks to the PEOPLE.

With love, your Eastern European friends

Authoritarian Checklist
Win elections on fear & populist promises
Reclaim power for the People from the elites
Purge highest positions in key government institutions
Place cronies in positions of highest power regardless of their competence
Brush off any critical press as fake, corrupt, acting against the People
Bluntly lie to the People
Ban press from parliament/congress/White House or selectively limit their access
Limit press freedom & quietly take control of mainstream media
Label opposition & protesters as traitors, elites trying to reclaim power
Limit freedom of assembly
Fix highest court to be able to bypass Constitution for the good of the people
Limit minority & womens rights
Ruin the economy to fulfil your populist promises in the short term
Alienate international partners and allies, making your country great again
Quietly fix electoral law under the disguise of making it better
Start over, until theres nothing left

With love, your Eastern European friends.



6 RULES for Survival under an Authoritarian Regime

Rule 1

Dont stay indifferent. It WILL concern you eventually. It will concern your family, your friends. Voice your objection IMMEDIATELY. Show them you care. RESIST.

Rule 2

They thrive on FEAR & IGNORANCE. Expose their scaremongering, show flaws in their arguments. Raise awareness, EDUCATE people around you. They will try to distort FACTS, rewrite history. DONT LET THEM.

Rule 3

Organize protest movements, mobilize civil society. Theyre well organized, so should you be. FLOOD THE STREETS. They WILL back off when they see your numbers. They depend on you the PEOPLE.

Rule 4

Dont let them DIVIDE you into different classes of citizens, true Americans, patriots vs traitors, enemies of the state. Youre ALL citizens, ONE nation, despite different beliefs and ideology. Make your diversity your STRENGTH. Stay TOGETHER for a common goal survival of your country, of freedom and democracy.

Rule 5

Dont give up, dont get tired, and dont try to wait it out. Dont hope it will pass. It WONT. They will manipulate the people, control the media to sway public opinion, fix the electoral system and STAY FOR GOOD.

Rule 6

If you dont get them to back off or to step down, you better make goddamn SURE that when the next elections come, assuming theres still any democracy left, NO ONE will vote for the same bastard(s) again!
With love, your Eastern European friends



7 RULES on Approaching Authoritarian Supporters
What if your neighbour, friend or family member supports the authoritarian regime?

Rule 1

Dont look down on them, dont patronize them, even if you know what theyre saying has no factual basis or you find it offensive. Dont preach, ask questions. Try to understand them, where they are coming from, what their problems are and why they see solutions to them in the regime. Treat them as people, as equals. They believe what theyre saying is true and they might have valid reasons for their support.

Rule 2

Dont get emotional, dont get provoked into heated arguments. Fight the other sides emotions with your calm, logical approach. The angrier they get, the calmer you should be. Theyll calm down eventually.

Rule 3

Focus on what you have in common. Do you live in the same neighborhood? Do you work in the same company or sector? The smaller the community, the easier it is. Give examples, like we all need to get this done for all of us, if we dont cooperate neither of us will have it.

Rule 4

Use their language, dont treat it as inferior or below you dont seem patronizing (see rule 1). If they curse, curse with them. If they approach you with humor, dont get angry or uptight about it, reply with humor. Show them youre actually not that different (see rule 3). As long as you communicate on two different planes, you will never meet.

Rule 5

Dont block their news sources, dont turn away from their leaders and authority figures. Treat them as an insight to their worldview and tactics. Use them to your advantage, to better prepare for their arguments. Whenever you dont agree with something or detect a lie, voice it calmly, expose it with factual arguments.

Rule 6

Pinpoint the practical, negative effects of their sides actions, ones that affect them directly. Find examples of how they, their families, children or friends will be personally impacted by their policies, or how it will affect your shared community.

Rule 7

If all else fails, dont turn away, dont abandon your friends and family, dont shun your neighbors. Remember, an authoritarian wants to divide you to control you. So invite them over to your BBQ, crack open a beer, and who knows, maybe theyll realize youre not so different after all.

With love, your Eastern European friends.

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully more people use these guides to help wake others up.

NintendoFan81 posted...

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully more people use these guides to help wake others up.

You're welcome. I hope some people actually read it. It is unsettling how prescient it is.

Tag

morning bump

Thank you for sharing this.

Hexenherz posted...

Thank you for sharing this.

you are welcome

Another morning bump. Very important to be aware of these things especially with the escalations Trump has taken on LA yesterday and today. Make no mistake, we are fully under a fascist authoritarian regime now.

Keeping this one in my mind.

I suggest people start discussing a general strike with people you know in person.

Bump for another day in the Fascist USA

DoesntMatter posted...

Another morning bump. Very important to be aware of these things especially with the escalations Trump has taken on LA yesterday and today. Make no mistake, we are fully under a fascist authoritarian regime now.

I wonder how long it'll take for this to be officially acknowledged? A lot of sources are still under the impression that we're still a democracy.

Solar_Crimson posted...

I wonder how long it'll take for this to be officially acknowledged? A lot of sources are still under the impression that we're still a democracy.

many in this country will not acknowledge the reality of the situation until they themselves are the ones being shipped off to foreign gulags

I'm not sure how well treating MAGA loyalists, or even people who voted that way in 2024, better than they treat others has worked for the past decade. Engaging them as if they're just misguided and need better information doesn't seem to have yielded useful results. I think the underlying causes of what's happening in the U.S. are more fundamentally broken and diseased than they were for the people who wrote this advice, even if the methods to install authoritarianism are the same.

Empathy, humanity, and even basic decency are weaknesses to followers of American authoritarianism. Even though most followers would not commit violence and destruction themselves, they have no problem with their leaders doing it. How do kindness and rationality help people who knowingly and deliberately reject both?

Storm_Shadow posted...

I'm not sure how well treating MAGA loyalists, or even people who voted that way in 2024, better than they treat others has worked for the past decade. Engaging them as if they're just misguided and need better information doesn't seem to have yielded useful results. I think the underlying causes of what's happening in the U.S. are more fundamentally broken and diseased than they were for the people who wrote this advice, even if the methods to install authoritarianism are the same.

Empathy, humanity, and even basic decency are weaknesses to followers of American authoritarianism. Even though most followers would not commit violence and destruction themselves, they have no problem with their leaders doing it. How do kindness and rationality help people who knowingly and deliberately reject both?

Like you said, it was written for a different time, when the people weren't quite the same as they are now.

It also pre-supposes that the divide in America is down to manipulation by the regime when it turns out that the hateful bigots came pre-installed and have been foaming at the mouths for decades for a government like the Trump administration.

Storm_Shadow posted...

I'm not sure how well treating MAGA loyalists, or even people who voted that way in 2024, better than they treat others has worked for the past decade. Engaging them as if they're just misguided and need better information doesn't seem to have yielded useful results. I think the underlying causes of what's happening in the U.S. are more fundamentally broken and diseased than they were for the people who wrote this advice, even if the methods to install authoritarianism are the same.

Empathy, humanity, and even basic decency are weaknesses to followers of American authoritarianism. Even though most followers would not commit violence and destruction themselves, they have no problem with their leaders doing it. How do kindness and rationality help people who knowingly and deliberately reject both?

That's fair criticism, but although not all of this will apply to our current circumstances, some of it can be helpful. No two situations like this in history are completely alike.

There's also the Simple Sabotage Field Manual published by the CIA, it's free to get out there.

Bump

Thanks for posting. I will keep these points in mind, especially interacting with family members.

Bass posted...

Thanks for posting. I will keep these points in mind, especially interacting with family members.

you're very welcome!

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I need to watch Andor. I not really into jedishit at all, but I've heard that Andor, especially season 2, goes hard with like anti-fascist type plotlines. Something about Galactic ICE apparently.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Thank you.

I wish this wasn't needed.

I really wish it wasn't.

Bump.

Be safe this weekend !