Politically-motivated attacks are an issue for democracies around the world

Transcript

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Leaders around the world have condemned the attempted assassination of former President Trump this past weekend. They have also warned that the U.S. must do more to prevent political violence. But as NPR's Jackie Northam reports, many other democracies aren't immune to political extremism.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: In mid-May, Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, was campaigning for reelection when a gunman opened fire on him. Fico, a populist and controversial figure, survived. Government officials there say the shooting was politically motivated. Whether it be Slovakia, the U.K., India, Brazil or here in the U.S., politically motivated attacks like this are becoming more common, says Rachel Kleinfeld, who specializes in democracies and political violence at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

RACHEL KLEINFELD: We are seeing an increase in violence of all sorts around the world. And in democracies, we are seeing increased assassination attempts and threats and other forms of intimidation of public officials.

NORTHAM: The increase in political violence often charts the rise of populism, says Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King's College London. He says the parties and their leader aggrandize violence, including against immigrants or minority groups, and no longer obey the rules of the game.

PETER NEUMANN: No longer being polite and pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable in terms of discourse, pushing the boundaries in terms of very militant language that is being employed.

NORTHAM: Carnegie's Kleinfeld says social media also has a powerful role in the rise of political extremism that transcends international borders.

KLEINFELD: The social media companies are being tremendously irresponsible in pretending they have no role in the rise in violence globally. There is absolutely a strong correlation between violent threats online and what we're seeing offline.

NORTHAM: The threat of an attack affects how politicians do their jobs, says Harriet Harman, who was a Labour MP in the U.K. for more than four decades before leaving office in July. She says two of her fellow MPs were killed over the past decade. Another's office was firebombed. Harman says now some politicians are afraid to speak out, including in Parliament, because of threats.

HARRIET HARMAN: MPs have said to me, I would have spoken in that debate, but I just could not bear the threats that I knew that would come if I spoke. Now, if MPs are changing the way they debate and the way they vote because of threats, then that is absolutely fundamental undermining of our democracy.

NORTHAM: Harman used to wander through her constituency to meet people, hear what they had to say.

HARMAN: I wouldn't dream of doing that now because it would immediately be on social media, and then I would be at risk.

NORTHAM: While violence and threats are rising in many countries, Carnegie's Kleinfeld says the U.S. is still in a category of its own.

KLEINFELD: We're seeing threats against members of Congress have risen tenfold since 2016. We're seeing threats against election officials, school board officials, mayors.

NORTHAM: The concern now is whether the assassination attempt on Trump will spark security incidents elsewhere in the world. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.