Liberalism’s Last Stand

If liberal democrats continue to play both sides, they risk ceding their future to the very forces they seek to contain.

Illustration by Pius Fozan with help from AI Image Creator

Convicted felon Donald Trump has returned to the White House. Musks and Modis of this world, and his supporters are jubilant, while those invested in liberal democracy around the world watch in trepidation. This win signals more than just a second term for a man once thought vanquished; it underscores a seismic shift toward far-right populism and casts a long shadow over liberal democracy’s future. Trump's success shows that leaders around the globe who adopt similar playbooks—using the electoral system to further agendas that undermine democratic institutions—are emboldened, connected, and on the rise.

Today’s far-right populism is no monolith, yet Trump’s re-election serves as a unifying rallying cry for figures like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Isreal’s Netanyahu, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, France’s Marine Le Pen, and India’s Narendra Modi. Each has seized on nationalist rhetoric to gain popular support, advancing an authoritarian vision that promises to protect “traditional” values against perceived threats. In Trump, they find both a symbol and an ally, a figure who demonstrates how electoral democracy can be weaponized to dismantle the very foundations that sustain it. This alignment is not incidental; it is a coherent, global movement actively shaping the political landscape.

Liberal democracies, once thought unassailable, are faltering against this wave. The reason? They have ceded ground to populist narratives, attempting to co-opt and placate rather than confront. When Germany’s Olaf Scholz implements a stricter immigration policy following a surge in far-right votes in the former East German states, he is feeding the same narratives he hopes to contain. This political acquiescence to far-right populist themes is happening across Europe and beyond, as centrists believe that mirroring aspects of far-right rhetoric will blunt its appeal. Instead, they legitimize it, leaving the left divided and the right empowered.

Francis Fukuyama once argued that democracy and liberalism are separate concepts and this new wave of extreme and far-right populism has drawn a clear line between the two. Democracy, in its most procedural sense, continues to function: people vote, leaders are elected, constitutions remain intact. Yet, liberalism—the idea that institutions, norms, and a respect for individual rights protect democracy—is being eroded. Leaders like Trump have shown that authoritarianism can thrive under the guise of democracy, erasing the barriers between governance and raw populism. They dismiss checks and balances as “deep state” obstructions, vilify independent media, and encourage a public distrust of traditional institutions.

Trump’s latest campaign displayed these tactics with ruthless efficiency. From inflammatory rhetoric on immigration to openly hostile language toward political opponents, he leaned heavily into narratives that painted the United States—and by extension, Western civilization—as under siege. This messaging does not merely appeal to voters at home; it resonates globally, with far-right leaders in Europe and beyond crafting similar appeals to protect their nations from outside “threats.” Orbán, Modi, Le Pen, and Meloni all campaign on variations of this theme. Each purports to be the defender of a national identity that is allegedly threatened by progressive ideals.

Liberals, meanwhile, are increasingly playing both sides, adopting elements of this divisive language in an attempt to pamper a nervous electorate. The result is a dangerous convergence, one that pushes mainstream leaders closer to their far-right counterparts and leaves a void where genuine opposition should be. But this centrist drift is a failed strategy. Every time mainstream liberals adopt right-leaning rhetoric, they lose a piece of their credibility and further blur the line between liberal and populist ideologies.

If the lesson of Trump’s re-election is anything, it is this: liberal democrats cannot afford to play both ways. They must make a choice. The path forward demands a recommitment to the values that underpin liberal democracy: openness, inclusion, and an unyielding commitment to civil liberties. Compromising on these principles for short-term political gains only legitimizes the very forces that seek to dismantle them.

In the days following Trump’s re-election, his allies across Europe and Asia will interpret his victory as validation. The global far-right will find new vigour in his success, bolstered by the knowledge that these tactics work, that a populist-authoritarian vision can indeed triumph through democratic means. The liberal order is broken, timid, and exhausted. Leaders must choose whether they will fortify democracy or watch it continue to erode, piece by piece, into a hollowed shell that allows the far-right to reshape societies from within. The time for wavering is over; only decisive, principled action will prevent this alliance of far-right populism from overwhelming the democratic norms it so fervently undermines.