An analysis of the signs of a fascist state with University of Toronto professor Marci Shore
Fearful best describes the feelings of millions of Americans at home or abroad. Throughout Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Era,’ censorship is high, social welfare is under threat, and the legal system is put into question. All while a charismatic leader expands the power of his government. These are the tell-tale signs of a rising fascist state. I discussed this issue with Professor Marci Shore of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. I reached out to Shore after she was featured in a video with the New York Times titled: “We’re Experts in Fascism. We’re Leaving the U.S.” In it, Shore used her interests in European history and totalitarianism to analyze the unprecedented level of force used in the first few months of this presidency.
We began the interview by discussing her immediate thoughts on the signs of fascism and its current growth in the United States. Shore noted unwavering support of the leader, blatant discrimination, and the overreach of the federal government. “The executive branch has usurped the authority of both the legislative and judicial branches, checks and balances have broken down, and the president does not respect the courts’ decisions,” she said. “After the 2024 elections, it was clear to me that I didn’t want to bring my children back to the States. I could feel that the country was descending into fascism, and I sensed there would be much more violence to come.” Unlike suggested by the title of the Times’ video, Shore’s decision to move to Canada was a “long and gradual” family decision involving many factors, instead of “a sudden, unexpected choice occasioned by the 2024 elections, and I wouldn’t want to falsely dramatize it” said Shore.
Pertaining to federal and executive overreach in the Trump presidency, this has occurred in several ways,one of these being taking unprecedented actions, such as announcing further control over the Federal Communications Commission or cancelling the U.S. Army’s annual concerts in commemoration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month. Secondly, overreach includes the government taking illegal action, such as denying due process by deporting detainees to non-American prisons.
Shore explained many of these shocking events with the Russian word ‘dna ne sushchestvuet’, which translates into ‘there is no bottom.’ This term suggests there is no limit to what the federal government can continue doing as long as it is normalized. Shore said Americans must be “self-aware of how easy it is to normalize the abnormal.” Continually, “the thing we thought was totally unimaginable and unacceptable can quickly become the new normal,” she said. Shore said, “the descent into fascism is step-by-step, and we need to be aware that there is no natural stopping point.”
Shore used another term to describe the ongoing rise of fascism, with the noun ‘Proizvol’ is best explained as using arbitrariness as “a key element of terror.” “The absence of rules or logic creates a situation where no one knows who will be next and everyone grows fearful, ” said Shore. “This foments atomization, complicity and distrust, and tyrannical regimes feed on these things.” For example, when Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk was recently detained by ICE, Shore noted how she experienced ‘Proizvol.’ “I thought, if guys in masks tried to grab my student, what would I do? Would I run away? Would I try to pull the mask off? Would I try to pull the guys off of her? The truth is, I don’t know. Not knowing terrified me” said Shore.
This fear is not only true for Shore, but for millions of Americans who are concerned with the actions of the federal government and its executives. As Shore begins teaching at Munk School in Toronto, my last question asked what she is looking forward to in Canada that she feels would be risky in the United States. “I’ve long been terrified of the gun violence, of school shootings, of the omnipresence of guns,” she said. “What I appreciate in Canada is gun control laws, safer streets, and reduced fears of school shootings. I give my children more freedom here.”
Today in the United States, seemingly routine aspects of people’s lives are now put into question and stoking fear, which a fascist regime relies on. Analyzing Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ on the surface level will reveal signs of a fascist government. Shore’s critical and in-depth analysis, however, explains the fine print details of how the administration can accomplish it.