US election: The cost of eroding trust in democracy

It feels like there’s a lot at stake for all of us in this upcoming United States presidential election. President Donald Trump has upended not just the American political establishment, he has disrupted relationships with America’s allies and made the whole world uneasy. And now –while we’re still caught up in a pandemic, which itself is unsettling enough –the future of the U.S. feels uncertain. Why has Trump in the past implied that he might refuse to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, should he lose? Why sow distrust in the most basic functions of a democratic society? And where could this be leading?

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