This article examines the risk of democratic backsliding and the normalization of authoritarianism, using the Netflix series The Man in the High Castle as a lens. It analyzes how individuals adapt to and rationalize participation in oppressive systems, drawing on Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil. The author applies these insights to contemporary political developments in the United States under Donald Trump, particularly the potential use of emergency powers to disrupt the 2026 Mid-Term elections. The paper concludes with a call for the federalization of Europe to prevent similar autocratization.
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Leo Klinkers (2026) studied this question.
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