The Smithsonian Institute is the latest target for Donald Trump, who in a presidential order has decided to reform the support to the cultural institution to get rid of "divisive narratives" and "inappropriate ideology".
Trump has also recently interfered with the management of the John F Kennedy Center, a prestigious institution for performing arts, where he appointed himself as chairman. This does not surprise Staffan I Lindberg, head of the international democracy research institute V-Dem, at the University of Gothenburg.
Cultural institutions are a potential source of resistance, just like universities, media, and the judiciary. It is part of the strategy to undermine and weaken all centers that can express deviant opinions and question Trump's exercise of power, he says.
Like Putin
Targeting cultural life and universities is a common approach in authoritarian countries, according to Staffan I Lindberg – precisely because cultural workers and academics often argue against and resist.
That's what Putin did in Russia, Erdogan did in Turkey, and Orbán in Hungary.
Already in 2016, Staffan I Lindberg warned that democracy in the USA "with 99 percent certainty" would not survive a second term with Trump as president. He has just returned from a trip to Washington, where he experienced a palpable fear among colleagues.
Worse than Budapest
Being there now is much worse than the feeling of being in Budapest, it was more like being in a really authoritarian context.
Staffan I Lindberg is worried that cultural life has not yet offered such strong resistance.
But American cultural life and civil society are strong, and we must hope that they gather themselves.
