This dynamic website shows the different connections in what Francesca Bria calls the “Authoritarian Stack” – the connected network of ultra-rich, corporations and politicians that is driving the international
I am less concerned about the existence of this than I am about the absence of something on the anti-authoritarian/democratic side of the debate.
There are a few funders and ultra-rich individuals who are funding organisations, there are organisations like Philea who are trying to connect up the different European foundations, and of course there are also European and national government funds for research.
However, the picture on our side of the divide seems far more disconnected, far more hesitant, and reluctant to put private egos and interests aside to defend the very foundations of our democratic system.
It looks, in fact, a lot like the division of mainstream parties trying to face up to the populist right.
The lessons of success against the populists in politics are to keep the focus on living standards and not on culture wars; to reinforce norms around anti-racism and split the pro-business right from the far right; and to ensure that the foundations of the rule of law and fair elections are preserved.
To this might be added the work on epistemic security that my own organisation is starting to do with the support of one of those pro-democracy funders, looking at policy and at hyperlocal levels.
But much of this is done on tiny budgets, without the ability to invest in research, in network building, and in design. Unless we can start to build collective and collaborative work on anti-authoritarianism, and create the network of people at local level that can make the difference in one-to-one interactions.
It’s unlikely that we can compete toe-to-toe with authoritarian billionaires. But we can recruit real people and work in real communities to stand up to their influence.