There is a scene in the first “Star Wars” where the heroes find themselves in a garbage compactor. They frantically grab for anything that can keep them from getting crushed as the walls inexorably close in. Such is the plight of civil society in countries facing what democracy experts call “closing space” — and it has now come to the United States.
Fifteen years ago, civil-society organizations abroad that supported ideas anathema to governing parties found themselves getting squeezed from all directions. Russia, Ethiopia and other semi-authoritarian regimes began restricting foreign funding to their nonprofit sectors. These regimes undermined the legitimacy of organizations by painting their ideas as foreign or insinuating that their leaders were corrupt. Registration laws were crafted that made perfect compliance impossible.
Today, the space in which U.S. civil society operates is closing in — thanks to polarization, not a ruling party. Illiberals on the far right and far left have decided that it’s not enough to persuade: They must eliminate undesirable ideas — and organizations — using whatever power is at hand, their tactics pulled straight from those used by anti-democratic regimes abroad.
States have passed 38 new anti-protest laws. Free speech is being throttled by universities firing tenured professors for their words and by gag-order bills introduced in 36 states such as Florida. Businesses have faced state retaliation for offering customers desired products such as investment funds that employ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening. U.S. House of Representative committees have investigated mainstream environmental groups for failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Fifty-year-old church ministries are suddenly facing state lawsuits.
When I looked for examples of “closing space,” I ended up with six pages. Since illiberals on the right wield more political power than those on the left, they are more likely to use governmental regulatory, legal, and oversight agencies to silence their critics. Illiberals on the left exercise more power in universities, schools and cultural institutions; they are largely working through private regulation of speech and funding. But both also obstruct the work of the liberals on their side of the partisan divide.
Why target one’s own side? By closing space, illiberals eliminate the middle ground and reduce competition for their extreme views. That expands their power as people grudgingly accept more anti-democratic action from their own side, believing it is necessary to prevent similar actions by their opponents.
U.S. philanthropists are addressing the problem quietly and in piecemeal fashion. When grantees are targeted by cyberthreats, seven-figure lawsuits or an attorney general’s investigation, they respond to the individual incident, with as little attention as possible.
Overseas, such a limited response failed. More organizations faced restrictions. Philanthropy itself was targeted.
In the United States, philanthropy does not have to look overseas — we can recall our own history. Space for civil society was constricted during the Jim Crow South: In Birmingham, Ala., a Junior League could operate — but an interracial league for checkers players couldn’t. In Mississippi, there was a free press, but it was illegal to publish anything supporting social equality between whites and Blacks. Groups promoting disapproved ideas might have their private insurance denied, be closed for regulatory violations, or face vigilante violence that would go unpunished.
Overseas, after a decade, philanthropists learned to band together. They set up pooled funds to defend their grantees. They supported lawyers, crisis communications, and created physical and cybersecurity programs. Programs began to whisk activists to safety if danger arose.
Luckily, we are at the early stages of closing space in the United States. And groups such as the Democracy Funders Network are learning from overseas to help nonprofits and philanthropies across the political spectrum find solutions. Liberals — whether conservative or progressive — should join the effort to protect the national treasure that is America’s vibrant civil society.
Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This is drawn from her latest paper, “ Closing Civic Space in the United States,” and is distributed by The Fulcrum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news platform covering efforts to fix our governing systems.