The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide

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 CNBC’s Joy Reid on national TV and recommended by former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

The blog is described as "one of the most interesting and most widely read forums for constitutional law and policy" and a "must read" for legal scholars who research constitutional law in Europe.


Key takeaways


Don’t let them divide you – remember you’re one People, one Nation, with one common good.


They will propose shocking laws to provoke outrage. If you focus your efforts on fighting them, they will seemingly back off … In the meantime they will push through less “flashy” legislation, slowly dismantling democracy. Focus your fight on what really matters.


“… they will focus on what hurts the most – women and minorities…They will paint foreigners and immigrants as potential threats. … 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.


They will try to limit freedom of assembly, calling it a necessity for 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.


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. Don’t 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.


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 wouldn’t approve of their actions, or distort their image to make you think they would...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.


Oppose any changes to electoral law that an authoritarian regime wants to enact – rest assured it’s only to help them remain in power longer.


And above all, be strong, fight, endure, and remember you’re 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


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martin Mycielski is the Vice President and Executive Director of the Open Dialogue Foundation in Brussels.


Sources:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPX8nCgjpUK/?igsh=emV2NmtibnByaHNt

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