How the war on terror primed America for autocracy

According to The Economist, two decades of post-September-eleventh security expansions have left America's institutions vulnerable to authoritarianism. Emergency powers meant to fight terrorism—warrantless surveillance, executive detention authority, and restrictions on assembly—became normalized tools of governance. The piece argues that once these powers were established as constitutional, they remained available to any administration willing to use them. The war on terror didn't end terrorism; it ended the assumption that such powers would be temporary.

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