"I spent more than 20 years leading U.S. government-sponsored justice projects in countries with weak to nonexistent democracies, including Albania, Mongolia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Republic of Georgia, and Armenia. Those of us who have worked in nations like these don't have to imagine what it looks like when a place's leaders demonstrate no regard for the rule of law. What we've seen overseas looks a lot like what we've started to watch unfold in this country over the course of the past 10 months."
"Rather than passing laws to protect free speech, the government passes new laws and enforces existing ones in such a way as to discourage and punish the exercise of free speech. The state's regulatory agencies deny media organizations licenses needed for broadcasting and publishing if those organizations criticize the government. Its security forces and tax authorities use their power and authority to frighten people into silence."
"Take, for example, the Republic of Georgia, where I worked from 2010-25. In the decade after its 2003 Rose Revolution, Georgia made solid progress toward the rule of law with assistance from the U.S. and many European donors. But in recent years, the ruling coalition, the Georgian Dream party, led by a Russian oligarch, has reversed that progress and chipped away at the free speech and assembly rights guaranteed by Georgia's Constitution."
More than twenty years of U.S.-sponsored justice projects across Albania, Mongolia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Republic of Georgia, and Armenia reveal recurring patterns of leaders showing no regard for the rule of law. Governments often use laws, regulatory agencies, security forces, and tax authorities to intimidate critics, deny media licenses, and punish free expression. Such tactics reverse democratic gains, as occurred in Georgia after initial post-2003 reforms when the ruling coalition eroded free speech and assembly rights. Observing similar legalistic intimidation domestically provides early indicators that democratic protections are weakening.
Read at Slate Magazine
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