The Export of American Decline
Zoom out for a second: CASE A: The current framing of 'Maga' and its global export. The Financial Times article 'US undermines democracy to promote Maga to the world' (2026) suggests a novel approach by 'America adapting older tools to spread a cynical worldview.' The implication is that this 'Maga' ideology represents a distinct and dangerous departure from established American democratic values
and practices abroad. The focus is on the specific political brand, portraying its international promotion as an erosion of democratic norms previously upheld by the US. This perspective implicitly praises a bygone era of US foreign policy as a bastion of democracy. CASE B: Historical reality of US 'democracy promotion.' For decades, the US has 'adapted older tools' to spread its worldview, often
subverting democratic processes when they don't align with American interests. In 1953, the CIA orchestrated a coup to overthrow Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh (declassified 2013), paving the way for decades of authoritarian rule. In 1954, a similar CIA-backed coup in Guatemala toppled President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán to protect the interests of the United Fruit
Company, ushering in a brutal civil war (PBS, 1999). Fast forward to 2019, the Organization of American States (OAS) played a key role in legitimizing a coup against Bolivia's democratically elected President Evo Morales (CEPR, 2019). The 'cynical worldview' isn't new; it's the consistent application of realpolitik cloaked in democratic rhetoric. THE FRAMING: The FT states 'US undermines democracy