Democracy is being dismantled. What can we do to stop it?

How would you behave if your democracy was being dismantled?

- Andy Beckett

In most western countries, that used to be an academic question. Societies where this process had happened, such as Germany in the 1930s, seemed increasingly distant. The contrasting ways that people reacted to authoritarianism and autocracy, both politically and in their everyday lives, while darkly fascinating and important to study and remember, seemed of diminishing relevance to now.

Not any more. Illiberal populism has spread across the world, either challenging for power or entrenching itself in office, from Argentina to Italy, France to Indonesia, Hungary to Britain. But probably the most significant example of a relatively free, pluralist society and political system turning into something very different remains the US, now more than nine months into Donald Trump's second term.

As it often does, the US is demonstrating what the future could be for much of the world. Trump's purges of immigrants, centralisation of power, suppression of dissent, rewarding of loyal oligarchs and contempt for truth and the law are not unique. Even governments that present themselves as alternatives to populism, such as Keir Starmer's, increasingly share some of its features, such as a performative severity towards asylum seekers.

Partly because populism is divisive and partly because Trump is so volatile, the domestic impact of his regime is uneven. And so is how different groups and individuals respond to its actions. These complex, often disturbing patterns are particularly clear in California.