A chilling new era as US embraces autocracy while disregarding rule of law and democracy

Daily Maverick

22-04-2025

While submerged by the 'flooding of the zone', as former Trump strategist Steve Bannon termed it, moments of clarity are rare. But every now and again, a telling moment cuts through the chaos. Two moments over the past few weeks stand out as emblematic, even if they have been largely drowned out in the media by the harrumphing over tariffs.
Last month the United Nations General Assembly voted on two symbolic resolutions; to declare 28 January the 'International Day of Peaceful Coexistence' and 12 July the 'International Day of Hope'. One might think this a foregone conclusion. Why would any nation be against such concepts? Predictably, every country voted in favour of the resolution, apart from one: the United States of America.
But even more astonishing than the lone dissenting vote was the justification for it. Edward Heartney, a veteran US career diplomat with a long track record in economic diplomacy, delivered a blistering rejection — and not just of the symbolic days but of the entire UN framework, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to Heartney, these goals represented a form of 'soft global governance' that undermined US sovereignty, despite the country playing a critical role in their adoption in 2015. The US argued that the UN's embrace of peaceful coexistence and dialogue among civilisations was a front operation for what it sees as a kind of Chinese Trojan horse.
'We have a concern that this resolution is a reaffirmation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although framed in neutral language, Agenda 2030 and the SDGs advance a program of soft global governance that is inconsistent with US sovereignty and adverse to the rights and interests of Americans,' read the official statement.
'We must care first and foremost for our own citizens above others… President Trump set a clear and overdue course correction on 'gender' and climate ideology, which pervade the SDGs. The concept of 'dialogue among civilisations' is rooted in President Xi Jinping's Global Civilization Initiative.' The language was Kafkaesque in its delusional, paranoid insecurity.
Amid the flood of headlines that have drowned perspective since 20 January 2025, that the very concept of the Sustainable Development Goals, which have been at the heart of at least the rhetoric of international affairs and development for years, if not always at the crux of its reality, is now being jettisoned by the world's most powerful country is a moment of clarity as to how far the US has changed or, depending on your point of view, has regressed.
Even more alarming was what happened on 14 April, when Donald Trump met with El Salvador's strongman vigilante president, Nayib Bukele. That meeting was the moment when the United States openly disregarded a unanimous Supreme Court ruling, choosing instead to align with a foreign autocrat over its own judiciary. Simply put, it was then that the US ceased to have a law-abiding government.
The case in question involved the illegal deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. The Supreme Court had ruled 9-0 that Garcia must be returned to the US. Trump ignored the ruling, falsely claiming the court had sided with him. His attorney-general, secretary of state, and vice-president followed suit. Bukele, known for his authoritarian streak and for spending $163-million (R3-billion) of taxpayers' money gambling on Bitcoin, happily played along.
In terms of clarifying moments, Trump's meeting with Bukele is arguably equal to the public humiliation of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in late February. Indeed, the contrast is telling. Zelensky, whose country has been fighting for its existence against a ruthless intruder in the shape of Vladimir Putin, was scolded for being insufficiently thankful for US military aid and for failing to wear a suit. A tieless Bukele was showered with praise.
Together, they dismissed the court's ruling and labelled Garcia a terrorist — without evidence. The message to the world was unmistakable: under Trump, America's government shows more deference to foreign strongmen than to its own legal institutions.
In a chilling aside, Trump even joked about building more supermax prisons in El Salvador — not for foreigners, but for US citizens he labels ' homegrown ' deportees. The implication? If he deems you a threat — a gang member, a terrorist sympathiser, or simply un-American — due process may no longer apply. The official position of the world's oldest constitutional republic is that the courts should have no say in who its executive deports and on what grounds. Foreign travellers to the US should beware. They can be detained without recourse. Americans should too. Bukele is effectively playing host to an American gulag, a kind of outsourced Guantanamo.
Meanwhile, warning signs for the US economy are flashing. Morgan Stanley analysts cautioned last week that investors should brace for repeated surprises, referencing Trump's ever-changing justifications for tariffs, saying that they 'should be prepared to be fooled many more times'. And sure enough, Trump's latest target is Jerome Powell and the independence of the Federal Reserve. Markets have sold off again heavily this week, unsurprisingly.
But the message extends beyond economics. 'Fool me once, shame on you…' could now apply to American governance itself. Trump has pardoned white-collar criminals who praised or donated to him. He has suspended laws requiring transparency in corporate ownership and weakened anti-bribery measures, while deporting those who merely don't agree with the strong-arming agenda of the administration. If there is any government acting as a Trojan horse, it is not China.
The US — once the chief architect and guarantor of the global world order and rule of law — is now seemingly intent on dismantling it. For other nations, and for citizens both around the world and in the US itself, the lesson is clear: the rules have changed. In this new, ruthless world, adapting quickly is the only way to survive. DM