Attacks on academics in the US: A microcosm of a larger threat to democracy

Turkish press icon Can Dündar draws stark parallels between rising threats to democracy in the United States and his native Turkey in a new documentary. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• Attacks on academics in the US: A microcosm of a larger threat to democracy

Contesto

A new documentary from DW, "Democracy Under Attack: Can Dündar and Trump's America," features the prominent Turkish journalist and press freedom advocate examining what he describes as a profound erosion of democratic norms in the United States, drawing direct and unsettling parallels to the political climate in his home country. The film, released this week, positions the recent wave of attacks and intimidation targeting academics and intellectuals in the U.S. not as isolated incidents, but as a microcosm of a larger, systemic threat to democratic institutions. Can Dündar, a former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, brings a uniquely personal and harrowing perspective to this analysis. He is a figure who has lived through the consequences of democratic backsliding, having been sentenced to prison in Turkey on charges widely condemned as politically motivated, surviving an assassination attempt, and ultimately fleeing into exile. His lens is therefore not merely academic; it is forged in the fire of direct experience with the tactics of autocratization, including the systematic silencing of critical voices in media and academia. The documentary argues that the pattern of hostility towards experts, scholars, and journalists in the contemporary United States mirrors strategies long employed in nations like Turkey. This includes the public vilification of intellectuals, legislative efforts to control educational curricula, and the creation of an environment where verbal and even physical attacks against academics become normalized. Dündar's commentary suggests these are not random acts of aggression but components of a broader playbook aimed at undermining trust in independent institutions that form the bedrock of a functioning democracy: a free press, a robust educational system, and an informed public discourse. This comparative analysis raises alarming questions about the resilience of American democracy. By framing the U.S. situation within a global context of democratic decline, the film challenges the notion of American exceptionalism—the idea that the country's democratic foundations are immune to the forces that have weakened democracies...

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Categoria: cronaca