ANALYSIS & OPINION | March 24, 2026
What does fascism have to do with what’s happening right now?
Historians have a name for the patterns we’re seeing. Here’s what it means — and why it hits home for the Coastal Bend.
This is not a question about name-calling. It’s a question historians, political scientists, and civil liberties scholars have been asking carefully — and answering with increasing urgency. The patterns have a name. Understanding them helps us understand why we show up on March 28.
When people hear the word “fascism,” they often think of World War II and Nazi Germany — something distant, historical, already defeated. But historians who study how authoritarian movements rise say fascism is better understood as a set of techniques than a single historical moment. And those techniques have a way of appearing again.
Three of the most cited scholars on this subject — Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny), Ruth Ben-Ghiat (Strongmen), and Jason Stanley (How Fascism Works) — have spent years documenting the warning signs. They don’t all agree on labels. But they agree on the patterns.
SCHOLARS WHO HAVE SOUNDED THE ALARM
→ Timothy Snyder — Yale historian, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century → Ruth Ben-Ghiat — NYU historian, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present → Jason Stanley — Yale philosopher, author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them → ACLU — Documenting constitutional violations in real time, including training 200,000+ Americans on protest rights ahead of March 28
The seven hallmarks — and what we’re seeing
1. Dismantling institutional checks and balances
Fascist movements consolidate power by weakening the systems designed to hold leaders accountable. Historians point to the firing of inspectors general, defunding oversight agencies, and replacing career officials with loyalists as textbook examples of this pattern.
When no one can investigate the powerful, the powerful can do anything.
Coastal Bend: Who holds our city accountable when the water runs out?
2. Using fear and force to control populations
ICE raids conducted by masked agents. The National Guard deployed into cities against governors’ wishes — the first time since 1965. Threatening protesters with “very heavy force.” People killed in ICE custody — at least 6 in 2026 alone, including two people killed during Minnesota crackdowns.
Ben-Ghiat documents how strongmen use spectacular shows of force not just to control people, but to signal: dissent has consequences.
Coastal Bend: ICE raids are happening in our neighborhoods right now.
3. Delegitimizing the press and political opposition
Labeling journalists “enemies of the people.” Calling peaceful protesters “terrorists” and “antifa.” Branding No Kings rallies — which drew 7 million Americans — “hate America” events. Stanley identifies this as one of fascism’s core techniques: making dissent seem not just wrong but criminal.
When opposition is labeled terrorism, any crackdown becomes self-defense.
Coastal Bend: Our voices matter. Show up March 28.
4. Scapegoating vulnerable groups for economic pain
Fascist movements historically channel economic frustration into fear and hatred of a minority group. The framing of undocumented immigrants as criminals and invaders — while wages stay flat, healthcare is cut, and gas prices rise — follows this pattern closely, according to civil rights scholars.
The people being blamed are not the people who caused the problem.
Coastal Bend: Gas prices hurt. That’s real. But immigrants didn’t cause it.
5. Cult of personality and monarchical symbolism
The White House posted a portrait of Trump wearing a crown. His own social media posted “LONG LIVE THE KING.” A military parade on his birthday framed as national celebration. Snyder notes that authoritarian leaders use symbolic monarchy to test how far they can go — and to normalize the idea that the leader is above the law.
That’s not a coincidence. That’s a message.
No kings. That’s not a slogan. That’s the point.
6. Merger of corporate and government power
Mussolini himself described fascism as the merger of corporate and state power. Critics and historians point to billionaire access to government infrastructure, mass deregulation benefiting the ultra-wealthy, and the sidelining of workers’ rights as modern echoes of this pattern.
When government works for the wealthy and not the people, everyone else pays.
Coastal Bend: Our water was sold to industry. We’re paying the price.
7. Criminalizing protest and suppressing dissent
The government shutdown is in week 6 — with real consequences for airport safety, social services, and workers forced to work without pay. The administration has threatened to use RICO laws against protest organizers and deployed FBI resources against peaceful demonstrators. The ACLU ran emergency know-your-rights trainings for 200,000 people before March 28.
When you need to train 200,000 people how to safely exercise their First Amendment rights, something has gone wrong.
Coastal Bend: We still have the right to show up. Use it.
“This is an attempted authoritarian overthrow of the United States Constitution. The most important story of our time is this one: What is this country going to allow him to do? That question will be answered not by Trump or his actions, but by the people of this country.” — Rachel Maddow, June 2025
A NOTE ON NUANCE
Historians debate whether what we’re seeing is fully fascism, proto-fascism, authoritarian populism, or democratic backsliding. The labels matter less than the patterns. What most scholars agree on is that the techniques being used — intimidation, scapegoating, press suppression, institutional erosion — are historically dangerous regardless of what you call them. Naming them clearly is the first step to resisting them effectively.
Why this hits home for the Coastal Bend
None of this is abstract for our community. The consequences of concentrated, unaccountable power land right here — in our taps, our gas tanks, our neighborhoods, and our families.
Our water could run out by May. A decade of selling water to industry while infrastructure crumbled. That’s what happens when power isn’t accountable to the people who live here.
Gas prices are so high some families can’t afford to drive to the store. The cost of everything keeps rising. The people at the top are fine.
ICE raids are happening in Coastal Bend neighborhoods. Families are being separated. Communities that have been here for generations are living in fear.
We survived hurricanes. We rebuilt Port Aransas. We show up for each other when things get hard. This is one of those times.
The 3.5% rule — and why March 28 matters
Research on authoritarian movements shows that when at least 3.5% of a country’s population takes to the streets in sustained, nonviolent protest, those movements have historically succeeded in stopping authoritarianism. In the U.S., that’s about 12 million people.
The trend line: 3 million at Hands Off in April 2025. 5 million at the first No Kings in June. 7 million at No Kings in October. March 28 is expected to be the largest yet — with more than 3,000 events planned nationwide.
We are close. Your presence is not symbolic. It is measurable. It matters.
Show up. March 28. No Kings.
Coastal Bend — we survived hurricanes together. We can do this too.
Find your local rally at nokings.org
Coastal Bend No Kings Coalition | March 2026