Tracking Authoritarian Trends & Implications

February 2025

Key Takeaways

All of these trends align with historical autocratic takeovers, where: 

• Media is controlled or reshaped to favor those in power. 
• Government oversight & democratic institutions are dismantled. 
• Economic power is consolidated through selective taxation & deregulation. Law enforcement & military structures are expanded to suppress dissent.

Institutional Purge & Workforce Restructuring: 

• DOGE initiative continues mass layoffs in critical agencies (CDC, NIH, USAID, NNSA, USDA, DOJ). 
• State AGs and governors are filing lawsuits to unfreeze federal funding as Trump withholds resources from Democratic-led states. 
• Inspectors General have been removed, eliminating oversight of federal spending and corruption. 

Economic & Policy Control: 

• USAID foreign assistance grants are being terminated, gutting a decades-old program and reducing U.S. influence abroad. 
• Trump is flipping on tariff policies—first delaying, now accelerating tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and the EU, injecting economic uncertainty into global markets. 
• The GOP’s Medicaid cuts are being masked through budget tricks, defunding vital services while directing savings toward corporate tax breaks. 
• DOGE mass layoffs & government defunding strategies are akin to Putin’s consolidation of economic power, where oversight institutions were dismantled to remove bureaucratic resistance. 
• The cutting of 90% of USAID contracts signals a weakening of U.S. global influence—aligning with the more isolationist, nationalist approach used by Russia and Turkey. 
• Tariff uncertainty creates market instability, which has been a hallmark of authoritarian economic control tactics—creating artificial crises to justify increased executive power. 

Media & Information Suppression: 

• MSNBC is reportedly replacing its anchors of color, fueling speculation that the White House press team is actively influencing which voices remain in mainstream media. Changes suggest that political pressure is influencing mainstream networks, potentially leading to a more compliant media environment.
• GOP leaders are advising lawmakers to stop hosting town halls as Republican voters become increasingly hostile and unmanageable. This follows the Hungarian model, where Fidesz politicians stopped engaging directly with voters after controlling the media narrative.
• Washington Post editorial page editor resigns after Jeff Bezos reorients the paper’s opinion section to align with his corporate interests. Bezos reshaping the Washington Post into a business-aligned publication mirrors how oligarchs in Hungary and Russia have used corporate control over media to shape political narratives. 

Authoritarian Law Enforcement & Immigration Crackdown: 

• 67 Florida sheriff’s offices have been granted ICE enforcement powers, expanding Trump’s mass deportation program to the local level.
• Militia leaders under investigation are outlining dangerous paramilitary visions for county-level enforcement. 
• State Republicans continue efforts to push unconstitutional “militia” frameworks that would grant local enforcement excessive power outside of federal or state oversight. Suggests an expansion of enforcement mechanisms beyond traditional state control. 
• Expanding ICE enforcement to local sheriff’s offices mirrors Orbán’s Hungary, where he empowered paramilitary groups and far-right militias to enforce state policies. 

Geopolitical & International Implications: 

• North Korea has deployed additional troops to Russia, reinforcing their role in Putin’s military operations against Ukraine. 
• The Trump administration is cutting 90% of USAID contracts, reducing the U.S.’s role in global humanitarian efforts and signaling a shift toward an isolationist stance. 
• A new 25% tariff on the EU is being considered, which could trigger retaliatory economic measures and increase trade tensions.

The Bottom Line

These developments accelerate autocratization, weakening democratic institutions while aligning media, law enforcement, and economic structures under direct executive control. 

Trump’s strategy is increasingly mirroring Orbán’s Hungary and Putin’s Russia, where state-aligned economic policies and security forces create a system that neutralizes opposition.