The racist discourse of the Polish government has caused a drop in support for resettling refugees and has demonized migrants as violent criminals. Trump instituted an Islamophobic travel ban and promised to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. Modi’s economic policies have routinely erased Muslim Indians from consideration. All three cases demonstrate attacks on the civil liberties of members of minority groups, a key tenet of liberal democracy.

Autocrats Stoking Racial Tensions to Their Advantage

Would-be autocrats can exploit racist sentiment to gain support and rise to power; once in office, they may pursue racist policies to reinforce that support.

Wesleyan University

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Unresolved racial and ethnic divisions can enable would-be autocrats to gain support by exploiting and intensifying racial tensions.

How Racism Enables the Rise of Autocrats

Some cases featuring rising racial tensions and resultant democratic decline include Poland, the United States, and India.

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