Neo-McCarthyist Deportation Policies of the U.S. and the Structural Fragility of American Democracy

The recent wave of neo-McCarthyist deportation policies in the United States raises urgent questions about the resilience of American democracy. Under the pretext of national security, these measures have increasingly targeted academics, activists, and students, particularly those who are critical of U.S. foreign policy. As a result, a chilling effect on freedom of expression has taken root, silencing dissent not through argument but through expulsion. This trend not only recalls the darkest moments of Cold War paranoia but also exposes how democratic systems, no matter how mature or institutionalised, can buckle under pressure when core liberties are undermined. In this blog, I examine how these developments reflect deeper structural vulnerabilities in the U.S. political system and what they reveal about the limits of liberal democracy when confronted with internal dissent.

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https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/mobile-people-and-diverse-societies/neo-mccarthyist-deportation-policies-of-the-u-s-