Democracy Americana

America Is Going Backwards - and Falling Apart

After the end of the voting rights era, the country is facing rapidly encroaching minoritarianism, vastly unrepresentative political institutions, and…

Jun 1 • Thomas Zimmer

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May 2026

The Rise and Fall of the Second Reconstruction, 1964/65 – 2025/26

Putting the end of the civil rights era in historical perspective: How it transformed the nation, how it was toppled by a raging reaction, and what…

May 17 • Thomas Zimmer

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Multiracial Democracy is Young and Fragile

A brief history of the struggle to reconstitute a nation built on racial hierarchy around the principle of equality – Part I: The lessons from the rise…

May 6 • Thomas Zimmer

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April 2026

Why the Tech Billionaires Are Aligned with Trump

Fueled by profit motives, ideological radicalization, and elite self-victimization, America’s tech barons are aggressively taking the side of…

Apr 26 • Thomas Zimmer

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Why Hungary Matters

Six big-picture conclusions from Orbán’s smashing defeat – and what it all means for the transnational struggle against rightwing authoritarianism

Apr 13 • Thomas Zimmer

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Donald Trump Does Not Have a Plan

He has dictatorial desires. But not everything is a brilliant distraction or part of a cunning masterplan. Let’s not turn incompetent agents of malice…

Apr 11 • Thomas Zimmer

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No Right Is Ever Safe – but Progress Is Possible

The outrageous assault on birthright citizenship should prompt us to reflect on the fragility of democratic progress - and our own responsibility to…

Apr 4 • Thomas Zimmer

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March 2026

What I am Learning from You

A reflection on what you have told me this week – about a sense of exasperation with politics, the search for ways out of this mess, and the longing for…

Mar 27 • Thomas Zimmer

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I Need Your Support

On the state of Democracy Americana after six months, the pitfalls of the newsletter economy – and what the future holds for this independent…

Mar 24 • Thomas Zimmer

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How the Hell Did We End Up Here?

From the failed ethno-nationalist revolt in the early 1990s to the triumph of MAGA extremism - A history of the Republican Party, Part II

Mar 14 • Thomas Zimmer

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September 2025

Democracy Americana Is Now On Steady

Things have really changed. Now I need your help. At a different platform.

Sep 24, 2025 • Thomas Zimmer

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The Right Wants a Reichstag Fire

The military patrolling in the streets, an assassination, and a movement longing for escalation. America is teetering on the brink

Sep 12, 2025 • Thomas Zimmer

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