The Crumbling Stars and Stripes: A Harvard Professor Announces the "End of American Democracy"

1. Introduction: The Day the "World's Oldest Democracy" Was Accused

On June 14, 2025, a short article published on the German news site t-online sent ripples through the international community. It quoted the following words from Harvard University political scientist Professor Steven Levitsky:

"We no longer live in a democratic country."t-online.de

Professor Levitsky, known as the co-author of "How Democracies Die," characterized the United States under the second Trump administration as a "competitive authoritarianism." This is a regime that maintains the facade of elections while exerting retaliatory pressure on the judiciary, legislature, and media.

This article examines four layers: ① the background of Levitsky's statement, ② reactions on social media both domestically and internationally, ③ indicators showing "quantified deterioration," and ④ implications for Japanese society. At the end, a diagram visualizing the concepts in the text and an illustrative photo are attached.

2. Deciphering Professor Levitsky's Warning

2-1. Self-Censorship Born from "Retaliatory Politics"

In this instance, Levitsky highlighted "silence based on fear of retaliation" as an element supporting authoritarianism. He noted that the current situation, where professors, lawyers, and philanthropists refrain from protest actions for fear of tax audits or grant freezes, closely resembles the early stages of authoritarianism observed in Latin Americat-online.de.

2-2. The Template of "New Despotism"

In his 2018 book "How Democracies Die," Levitsky outlined

1. denying the legitimacy of opposing political forces

2. condoning violence or private sanctions

3. arbitrarily manipulating the judiciary or electoral systems

4. declaring opposition media as "enemies"
   as four signals that condition the shift to authoritarianismen.wikipedia.org. His recent statement is tantamount to declaring that "the four conditions have surpassed the critical point."

3. How Did Social Media React?

3-1. Rapid Spread on X (formerly Twitter)

When excerpts from the interview were first released in the German magazine Stern, the official account of the American progressive think tank Center for American Progress immediately quoted it, posting "Levitsky says we are no longer a fully democratic system." Within just 24 hours, it recorded 3,000 repoststwitter.com.

On the same night, Harvard graduate journalist Jin Woo Kim shared an audio link with the caption "Must-listen interview—remarkably clear about what changed since 2020"twitter.com. The hashtag #AmericanAutocracy trended the following morning.

Meanwhile, conservative influencers reacted by calling it "paranoia of academia and media" and spread #CryHarderHarvard as a counter-hashtagtwitter.com.

3-2. Discussions on Reddit and YouTube

On the political subreddit r/PoliticalDiscussion, the post "Are we still a democracy?" gathered over 10,000 comments, with heated debates between those who believe "democracy is alive as long as we haven't lost the electoral system" and those who argue "formal elections alone don't constitute democracy." Hundreds of related videos were uploaded to YouTube, with conservative programs stirring anger under the headline "Harvard elites hate Trump voters."

3-3. Reactions in Japanese-speaking regions

On Japanese timelines, researchers and journalists residing in the U.S. testified about the impact on the study abroad community. Business Insider Japan highlighted the moments when a Harvard associate professor felt "on the verge of breaking" twice, discussing the detention of foreign students and the freezing of grantsbusinessinsider.jp. CNN Japan reported on a statement where over 12,000 alumni sued the government, voicing "protect academic freedom"cnn.co.jp.

4. The "Downward Curve" Indicated by Data

The numbers indicate that the quantitative evaluations by political scientists align with Levitsky's personal impressions.

5. What the "Trump × Harvard" Conflict Symbolizes

In February this year, the Trump administration temporarily froze federal aid to Harvard University, and in March, conducted a large-scale inspection under the pretext of scrutinizing research funds. In response, over 12,000 graduates from 1950 to 2025 submitted the largest opinion statement in history, criticizing that "the government is trampling on academic freedom."cnn.co.jp.

The structure of power attacking symbolic academic institutions has precedents in Hungary, Turkey, Russia, etc. It is part of a "culture war" strategy that weakens democratic guardrails.

6. Implications for Japan

6-1. Chain Reaction on Security and Economy

The transformation of the U.S. system shakes the premise of the Japan-U.S. alliance as being "between democratic countries." Especially in fields like sensitive technology and cyber security, information sharing is premised on a common foundation of human rights and the rule of law. As the U.S. leans more towards authoritarianism, voices in Japan calling for "risk management similar to that with China" are likely to grow stronger.

6-2. Reflection on Domestic Politics

Levitsky argues that "democracy is sustained not just by elections, but by reciprocal rules and a culture of tolerance." If political design of "winner-takes-all" and personal attacks on social media become the norm in Japan, there is a possibility of rolling down the same slope.

7. How to Rebuild Democracy

Levitsky emphasized, "The situation is still reversible."t-online.de. As the key to reversibility,

1. the reconstruction of a "minimum consensus" across parties

2. Institutional strengthening of independent bodies (election commissions, judiciary)

3. Solidarity of the "fearless voices" of civil society

4. Improving transparency of platform companies
   are mentioned. This is a common challenge for liberal democratic countries, including Japan.

8. Conclusion

"Democracy does not collapse overnight. It quietly, but surely, melts away."
Professor Levitsky's words are not about events in distant countries, but a caution to us who have taken democracy as "the air we breathe."