From promise to peril: How populism erodes the foundations of democracy

Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024 has sent shockwaves through the political world and put a bright spotlight on the growing wave of populism around the globe. With slogans promising to bring power back to the people, leaders like Trump have mastered a playbook that’s both magnetic and deeply divisive.

But here’s the real danger: what starts as populism often becomes a direct threat to democracy. And make no mistake—democracies don’t collapse all at once; they erode from within, piece by piece.

In Trump’s campaign and victory speeches, we heard echoes of a familiar refrain. The system is rigged. The elite are corrupt.

And only he, the voice of “real America,” can fix it. These words are powerful because they tap into real frustrations, but there’s a darker truth: populist leaders don’t simply want to fix the system. They want to dismantle it, stripping away the very safeguards that prevent tyranny and uphold democracy.

It’s a story that’s played out countless times across history, from the populist regimes of the 20th century to the authoritarian leaders of today. And as we look at the global spread of this phenomenon, it’s clear that Trump’s return to power is just one piece of a much larger trend.

The appeal of populism: why Trump (and others) keep winning

Populism thrives in a democracy’s weakest moments.

When economies are strained, when institutions are slow to respond to crises, and when political elites seem out of touch, populist leaders like Trump capitalize on the resentment.

They promise a clear path, a voice for the silenced, a champion for the “forgotten” people. They make democracy seem easy—something to be bulldozed forward by “willpower” rather than by the complex, often frustrating systems designed to keep power balanced.

Trump’s resurgence in 2024 leaned heavily on this populist formula. He resurrected grievances over alleged electoral fraud, attacked traditional media as the “enemy of the people,” and vilified political rivals as part of a corrupt “deep state” undermining the nation. This rhetoric is nothing new—it’s vintage populism—but it’s a tactic that resonates widely, especially when democratic institutions appear to stumble.

The appeal here is understandable. It’s easier to rally around a charismatic leader promising quick fixes than to engage in the difficult work of fixing a complex democratic system. And this formula doesn’t just work in America.

Look at Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Narendra Modi in India. Each of these leaders rose to power by capitalizing on dissatisfaction, uniting people around nationalistic, exclusionary visions, and demonizing opponents as enemies of “the people.”

Democracies are imperfect, but they’re vital

Here’s the crux of the matter: yes, democracies are deeply flawed. They can be inefficient, slow, even maddeningly bureaucratic.

Courts get mired in lengthy processes, and politicians sometimes seem more focused on maintaining power than serving their constituents. Bureaucracies swell, and policies can feel disconnected from the realities of daily life. It’s no wonder people lose faith.

But these flawed institutions are essential. They provide the checks and balances that prevent power from concentrating in one pair of hands. Courts, as imperfect as they may be, provide a means for justice, for appeals, for due process.

The press, even when biased, is a vital watchdog. And legislatures, slow-moving as they are, give voice to multiple perspectives, ensuring that no single agenda dominates. Together, these institutions create a balance that is self-correcting, imperfectly—but vitally so.

Populist leaders like Trump see the flaws in these institutions, but instead of working to improve them, they seek to exploit and dismantle them. They amplify every scandal, highlight every delay, and turn each small inefficiency into a rallying cry against the system itself.

The irony, of course, is that populist leaders don’t want to fix democracy—they want to replace it with a system where their own power is unchecked.

Populism’s strategy: Eroding trust in institutions

From his first term to his campaign for re-election, Trump has systematically worked to undermine trust in democratic institutions.

When courts ruled against his policies, he labeled judges as “biased” or part of a “deep state” conspiracy. When the press published unfavorable stories, they were branded “fake news.” And when electoral outcomes didn’t go his way, he stoked doubts about election integrity.

In Brazil, we saw similar tactics from Jair Bolsonaro. During his presidency, he routinely attacked the judiciary, accusing judges of sabotaging his policies. He frequently clashed with environmental regulators, defunding or bypassing them to allow unrestricted logging and mining in the Amazon.

And like Trump, he rallied against the media, labeling journalists as corrupt enemies of the state. Bolsonaro’s strategy mirrored Trump’s, amplifying every flaw in Brazil’s democratic institutions to consolidate his own authority.

This isn’t reform. It’s demolition. By chipping away at these institutions’ credibility, populists make it easier to bypass them or bend them to their will. And without trust in these institutions, democracy becomes a hollow shell.

Courts lose their ability to check executive power, the press loses its function as a watchdog, and legislatures lose their legitimacy as representatives of the people. In short, without these institutions, democracy is dismantled from the inside out.

A narrow vision of “the people”

Another hallmark of populism is its narrow definition of “the people.” Populist leaders claim to represent everyone, but in practice, they only represent those who align with their views. Anyone who disagrees becomes the enemy—a traitor, a threat, an “other” who doesn’t belong.

Trump’s rhetoric is a textbook example of this. He frequently defined “real Americans” as those who supported him and painted his critics—whether they were journalists, political opponents, or simply citizens who disagreed—as part of a corrupt elite or a foreign threat. His definition of “the people” excluded vast swathes of the population, reducing democracy to a battleground where only his supporters were legitimate citizens.

The same tactic can be seen in Hungary under Viktor Orbán. Orbán’s populist regime has been marked by intense nationalism, with the government labeling anyone who opposes their policies as “anti-Hungarian.”

Civil society groups, academics, and political opponents have been targeted, with Orbán casting them as foreign agents or traitors. By narrowing “the people” to those who fit his nationalist vision, Orbán has reshaped Hungary’s democracy to be exclusive rather than inclusive—a democracy in name only.

The danger here is clear. Populism doesn’t simply divide; it eliminates the idea of a pluralistic society. Dissent is silenced, opposition is demonized, and democracy is reduced to the narrow vision of a single leader. The “will of the people” becomes the will of those loyal to the leader, and everyone else is sidelined.

The road to authoritarianism: Lessons from history

History shows us that when populists dismantle democratic institutions, authoritarianism often follows.

Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany began with populist appeals to the “forgotten” Germans left behind by the Treaty of Versailles.

By demonizing the Weimar Republic and its institutions as corrupt and ineffective, Hitler justified dismantling them. Once the democratic institutions were out of the way, he swiftly consolidated power, transforming Germany into a totalitarian state.

Or consider Benito Mussolini in Italy, who rose to power on a wave of nationalist fervor. He promised to restore Italy to its former glory, blaming the political elite and democratic processes for the nation’s struggles.

Like Trump and Bolsonaro, Mussolini targeted the media, dismissed the judiciary, and silenced opposition. By the time he was done, Italy’s democracy had been gutted, replaced with a fascist regime where dissent was violently suppressed.

In these cases, populism served as the gateway to authoritarianism. The promise of “giving power back to the people” was a façade, a means of eroding the democratic structures that protect individual freedoms.

And once those structures were gone, there was nothing left to prevent the consolidation of absolute power.

The danger of dismantling democratic institutions

When Trump, Bolsonaro, Orbán, and other populists go after democratic institutions, they aren’t just attacking inefficiencies or corruption—they’re attacking the very foundations of democracy. Democratic institutions may be flawed, but they’re also the mechanisms through which democracy protects itself. Independent courts, free press, and legislative oversight are the systems of self-regulation that keep power in check.

Consider Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Once a promising reformist, Erdoğan used populist rhetoric to gain and expand his power, exploiting discontent with Turkey’s establishment. Over time, he undermined the judiciary, took control of the media, and rewrote the constitution to cement his authority. Today, Turkey is more authoritarian than democratic, with Erdoğan wielding near-total control.

Without these institutions, leaders can rule without restraint. When populist leaders target these systems, they do so not to fix them, but to remove them. And once these structures are gone, rebuilding them is nearly impossible.

As we’ve seen in countries like Russia and Venezuela, dismantled democracies rarely return to their former states.

A world at risk: The global spread of populism

The rise of populism is not just an American issue or a Brazilian issue; it’s a global phenomenon. From the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte to India under Narendra Modi, populist leaders are eroding democratic institutions worldwide.

Each of these leaders claims to represent “the people,” but their actions consistently undermine democracy’s pluralistic nature, transforming it into a tool for consolidating their own power.

In each case, we see the same pattern: populists gain power by exploiting legitimate grievances, then use that power to weaken institutions that could hold them accountable. They demonize opposition, reduce “the people” to a narrow base of supporters, and erode the checks and balances that prevent authoritarianism.

If this trend continues, the world risks a future where democracies become democracies in name only—hollowed-out shells where elections are held, but real power rests in the hands of a single leader or party.

Our role in defending democracy

The re-election of Donald Trump is a reminder that democracy’s survival is not guaranteed. Democracies are inherently vulnerable to populist movements because they allow freedom of expression, dissent, and the peaceful transfer of power.

But if we allow populist leaders to exploit these freedoms to dismantle democratic institutions, we risk losing the very essence of democracy itself.

Our role, as citizens, is not passive. Democracy requires active engagement. It requires us to hold leaders accountable, to support a free press, and to value institutions that uphold the rule of law. This isn’t about supporting one political party over another; it’s about preserving the structures that ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability.

The path forward: Choosing imperfect democracy over populism’s false promises

Democracy is messy, but that messiness is what keeps it resilient. The answer to its flaws isn’t to tear it down but to work towards improvement, to push for transparency, reform, and accountability. Populism offers easy answers and scapegoats, but it comes at the cost of democracy’s foundational principles.

The promise of democracy is a promise to all people—not just to those who pledge loyalty to one leader. In choosing democracy, we choose dialogue, diversity, and the collective pursuit of justice over the hollow simplicity of “us versus them.”

The challenge is real, and the stakes are high. But if we want to protect democracy from the peril of populism, we must commit to preserving its principles, even when they demand patience, tolerance, and compromise.

Democracy’s promise is our shared responsibility. It’s a commitment to keep power balanced, to keep voices diverse, and to remember that freedom only flourishes when protected by all of us, together.