Hi there! PhD in comparative politics focusing on authoritarian regimes, here. Just popping in to say I totally disagree.
Mostly, on the grounds that this isn’t either/or. The damage being done to democratic norms, especially the ideas of transparency, legitimate opposition, free press, and rule of law isn’t mitigated by incompetence. In some cases the two magnify each other.
Beyond this, while norms are durable, they are also difficult to repair if broken or damaged. In this sense, the danger posed by an authoritarian turn may persist even after the administration passes on. Repairing the damage to them may take years.
So while it’s fun to poke at the failed military parade, as the author does here, we should be concerned about the long term damage already done by the administration’s posturing about fraud in midterm election results, or its labeling of the press as “the enemy of the people.”
If we lose trust in the legitimacy of elections, or the peaceful transfer of power, or the independence of the judiciary, or the accuracy of information given by the bureaucracy, etc. then restoring that trust may be far more damaging than any policy failure.
