A pro-Palestinian protester at the department of social sciences at Berlin's Humboldt University is removed from the building by police. [Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images]
Trump is not unique in the collective west. As the crisis of capitalism deepens, "democratic" states intensify repression and criminalize dissent.
“Criminalization of journalism: I must surrender myself at Heathrow police station in exactly one month (May 15), unless they decide to drop their investigation, extend it again for the third time, or charge me under the Terrorism Act.” - Independent journalist Richard Medhurst
It is easy to see that authoritarian governance has accelerated in the United States recently. Donald Trump entered office with a flurry of Executive Orders and dubious agreements with major universities and law firms which in effect put them under his control. On April 10 the Supreme Court of the United States ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, one of 200 men sent to an El Salvador prison under circumstances of very questionable legality. Abrego Garcia differs from the others in that the Trump administration originally admitted that he was deported in error and that they did not have grounds to send him to his home country, El Salvador.
Not only has Abrego Garcia not been returned to the U.S., but El Salvador’s president was invited to Washington to make a public show of saying that he wouldn’t turn him over. This defiance of a lower court and the Supreme Court is indeed historic, and constitutes what is correctly referred to as dictatorial action. But if we look around the world at the nations of the collective west, those that claim to be paragons of democratic virtues and condemning other nations for what they call human rights abuses, we see similarly repressive activities.
Richard Medhurst is a British citizen and an independent journalist working in the United Kingdom and Austria. He was arrested at Heathrow airport in London in August 2024 and detained by the police for nearly 24 hours. He was charged under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused of “expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organization.” What is the proscribed organization in question? Hamas is believed to be the organization in question but Medhurst has not been informed and as the investigation has been extended multiple times, he still doesn’t know eight months after his arrest.
The UK state was not alone in harassing him. In February 2025 Austrian police raided his home and confiscated all of his electronic devices. He was detained again and accused of being a “terrorist.” Police in London even raided a Quaker meeting house and arrested six people on “suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance,” i.e. demonstrate in solidarity with Palestine.
Austria’s neighbor Germany will soon deport four people, citizens of the U.S. and European Union nations, for their activism on behalf of Palestine. They are said to be “threats to public order and national security” despite not having been convicted or even arrested for any criminal offense. Germany has also banned the use of Arabic in any public demonstrations. Only German and English are permitted to be spoken at such events and Arabic music at protests has also been banned.
Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland and detained for three days before being deported. Abunimah was questioned by police upon entering the country and was arrested before he could speak at an event. He was not permitted to contact his attorney in Switzerland or his family during his ordeal.
In North America, journalist Yves Engler was arrested and detained for five days in Montreal, Quebec after a zionist claimed that he was harassing her. The charges were later dropped, but only after Engler was punished and used as an example for anyone else who might think of openly criticizing Israel and its supporters.
Zionism is the thread in these cases. It has become the standard by which western nations have defined themselves. Germany even proclaims that Israel’s security is its Staatsräson, the very reason for that state to exist. In the U.S. criticism of Israel, now claimed to be the very definition of anti-Semitism, can lead to denial of permission to enter the country or to be allowed to stay.
Zionism is the newest form of white supremacy for those nations in Europe who owe their very existence to colonial and imperial plunder, and their partner-in-crime settler states like the U.S. and Canada. It is a tool of repression for nations in economic and political decline. Indeed it is all they have left. They cannot change the trajectory which makes China a leading economic power which can now determine their fates. They can’t undo the damage they have done to themselves in a futile and costly effort to weaken Russia. They can only try to silence their own people.
The people of the capitalist west are all living under various stages of capitalist crisis. Trump’s impulsive and damaging plan for a tariff trade war has shocked all of them, who depend on the U.S. as willing vassals but who now face economic catastrophe as a result of its actions. But they refuse to accept any other way out and beg Trump to continue the Ukraine disaster which only weakens them.
Palestine is both an impediment and an embarrassment. They are all complicit in the Gaza genocide and all acquiesce to zionist demands. Supposedly neutral Switzerland even cancelled a United Nations mandated meeting on Palestinian rights under pressure from Israel and the U.S.
Even as foreign students have visas revoked and are snatched off the street by masked agents, it would be a mistake to think of the United States and the Trump administration as being unique. The methods may differ from country to country, but all have in common a liberal order in decline and disrepute.
In Washington, opportunist senator Cory Booker bloviated without purpose, speaking and yet saying nothing for 25 hours and yet was applauded for his meager effort. He proved his reputation for vacuousness by joining 84 other senators out of 100 in defeating a proposal to stop military aid to Israel. They gave the seal of approval for arresting journalists and protesters and repressing anyone brave enough to speak up in the U.S. or Canada or Europe.
Trump is not as singular as we are led to believe. He may be the most crude and the least intelligent but he is in sync with the rest of the declining west and all of its leadership.
Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter, Bluesky, and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
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