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** Inform Your Resistance
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<p>Every month, experts join Political Research Associates to discuss the most <strong>significant contemporary threats to democracy</strong> from the mainstream and Far Right. Listen now so that you can inform your resistance in the fight for a just and inclusive democratic society. After all, <strong>resisting authoritarianism is just better with friends.</strong></p>



** Beyond the Ballot: the Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism with Steven Gardiner ([link removed])
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In this season finale episode, Koki talks to Steven Gardiner, PRA Principal Research Advisor, to reflect on the first year of Trump's second term and its implications for U.S. democracy. While the MAGA base remains about 15% of the U.S. and Trump’s approval ratings remain low, the Trump administration has chipped away at democratic norms, maintained control over the Republican party, decimated the bureaucratic state, and is poised to interfere with the 2026 midterms and likely 2028 elections beyond through strategies of “contested authoritarianism.”

But the highly visible actions of immigration enforcement, violations of the constitution, and nods toward White supremacy do not equate with chaos alone. Gardiner lays out how these are spectacles that mobilize, fear-monger, and deliberately normalize repression, erode democracy, and spur further political violence. He also discusses the effects of Project 2025 in action, attacks on trans rights and bodily sovereignty, and the roles of Dominionist theologies and Christian nationalism more broadly. The episode concludes by focusing on opportunities for division and dissent within the U.S. Right, along with the difficult but necessary work ahead to withstand election interference, register dissent, and continue to build the necessary power to overcome rising authoritarianism.

Steven Gardiner is Principal Research Advisor and formerly Research Director here at Political Research Associates. He has been researching writing in opposition to the politics of bigotry, violence, and authoritarianism since the early 1990s. In 2004, Gardner received a PhD in cultural anthropology from Cornell University. Since earning his doctorate, he has taught more than 20 different courses at eight universities in the United States, Pakistan, and the UAE.

Episode Resources
* Political Research Associates, “Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days: Authoritarian Gains and Consolidation ([link removed]) ,” The Public Eye, 2025.
* Katherine Stewart, “Burning Down the House: What’s Behind the U.S. Antidemocratic Reaction? ([link removed]) ” The Public Eye, 2025.
* Political Research Associates, “‘Do Not Let Grief Harden into Despair’: PRA Analyzes Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days, Part 1 ([link removed]) ,” Inform Your Resistance, 2025.
* Political Research Associates, “‘It's Never Just About Gender’: Gender and Authoritarianism: PRA Analyzes Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days, Part 2 ([link removed]) ,” Inform Your Resistance, 2025.
Listen Now! (Beyond the Ballot: the Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism with Steven Gardiner)

** How 287(g) Expansion Fuels Mass Deportations ([link removed])
** The New Frontlines of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown ([link removed])
** ​Coalitions and Contradictions between Capitalist and Far Right Agendas with Hialy Gutierrez and Claudia Espinel ([link removed])
** “It's Never Just About Gender”: Gender and Authoritarianism: PRA Analyzes Trump 2.0’s First 100 Days, Part 2 ([link removed])
** Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism—Episode 1: What is Antisemitism and its Weaponization? A Conversation for Movement Organizers with Shoshana Brown and Ben Lorber ([link removed]

Explore the epsiode archive ([link removed])

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