Democracy under duress? Tense countdown to US Election Day

The Debate

The planet's predominant superpower prides itself on its rules-based order and a constitution that codifies and sets in stone the transfer of power through the ballot box; a model and values that the United States tries to impose on the world scene. But for all the laws, all the rules, there is also Mao's line about political legitimacy, that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

With the election of Donald Trump and the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol, America deviated from the traditional left versus right divide. Now, five days out from an election that's too close to call, could that model change again?

We ask about the security and legitimacy of a process that has already begun, with 60 million ballots cast in early voting.

Could the model of governance really change inside the nation that's home to Wall Street and Silicon Valley, that has kept the peace inside NATO, that defends South Korea and patrols the Pacific? If so, what's the plan for the rest of the planet?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elena Colonna and Ilayda Habip.