Hun Sen's America

The authoritarian playbook is familiar, whether unfolding thousands of miles apart in Washington, D.C., or Phnom Penh. The repeated tactics of demonizing opponents, normalizing violence, undermining institutions, and weaponizing nationalism might seem like a grim script, but they are the undeniable backbone of both the Trump administration in the United States and Hun Sen’s long-standing regime in Cambodia.

The purpose of this comparison is not to equate the two nations' constitutional realities, but to highlight that the mechanisms of democratic erosion are universally recognizable.

In the U.S., the Trump administration employed these tactics with remarkable consistency. Immigrants and political detractors were relentlessly dehumanized, portrayed as criminals and threats to the nation—a classic authoritarian strategy that splits societies and mobilizes fear to maintain power. Opposition was not merely political dissent but equated to treason, with critics branded as “seditious” and enemies of the state. This language delegitimizes opposition and justifies harsh crackdowns. Political violence was normalized, tacitly endorsed through rhetoric and lack of condemnation, weakening democratic norms and fostering a climate where such violence became a political tool. Lastly, attacks on institutions—from the judiciary to Congress—and the transformation of patriotism into blind loyalty epitomized the undermining of democracy itself.

This blueprint, however, is far from unique to the American context. Hun Sen’s Cambodia offers a striking mirror image, albeit one set within a fundamentally different state structure where decades of democratic backsliding have already cemented control. Opposition figures have been dehumanized with brutal rhetoric—his vow to “beat all those dogs and put them in a cage” is hauntingly reminiscent of language used to marginalize political enemies. The suppression and delegitimization of dissent under the guise of protecting the nation reflects the same strategy of labeling critics as enemies or foreign agents to justify repression. Violence as a political instrument is openly embraced in Cambodia, often through extrajudicial killings, torture, and political oppression, backed by state mechanisms. This echoes normalized political violence under Trump, but with far greater systemic consequence. Institutional erosion under Hun Sen, controlling the judiciary and legislature to stifle opposition, parallels the attacks on democratic checks and balances in the U.S. Nationalism is weaponized fiercely to conflate support for Hun Sen with patriotism, marginalizing dissenters as disloyal—echoing Trump’s nationalism-driven loyalty demands.

The commonality lies in the strongman rhetoric and open hostility to democratic norms. The key distinction, however, is one of effectiveness and institutional capture. We must be clear that the severity of systematic human rights abuses and the scale of institutional capture in Cambodia stand on a different plane than the institutional stresses observed in the U.S. Hun Sen has successfully bent Cambodia's military, judiciary, and media to his will over decades, resulting in a successful authoritarian state. Trump’s authoritarian impulses, for now, remain constrained by institutions and traditions that are still largely intact—but the ambition to achieve Hun Sen's level of complete control is unmistakable. The coming years will reveal which man’s political project is ultimately more successful.

The comparison between the two regimes starkly illustrates that authoritarianism is a process that is not confined by geography or culture. It thrives on common strategies: divide and conquer through dehumanization; silence opposition by equating dissent with betrayal; solidify power by normalizing violence; weaken institutions designed to check power; and demand absolute loyalty framed as patriotism.

Most importantly, this playbook is not inherently powerful. Both the Trump administration’s and Hun Sen’s tactics illustrate that authoritarianism tests the boundaries of democracy not only by what a single leader says or does—but by how the public and institutions respond. When citizens and institutions shrug, when they fail to resist the normalization of violence and dehumanization, democracy’s foundation crumbles.

The lesson here is urgent. Defending democracy requires vigilance, resilience, and an unambiguous rejection of authoritarian narratives that seek to divide, intimidate, and consolidate power. The health of democracy depends on us recognizing these patterns and refusing to let fear and hate rewrite our national story.

In this struggle, our greatest weapon remains the collective defense of democratic ideals—where disagreement is not treason, dissent is not disloyalty, and institutions are respected rather than undermined. The record of both the Trump administration and Hun Sen underscores this truth: authoritarianism is not inevitable. It is a universal threat that begins with rhetoric and ends with complete state capture, and society chooses every day how far down that path it will allow itself to be led.

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Sources

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