Applebaum on Autocracy

Anne Applebaum warns that Sudan’s descent into chaos shows what happens when institutions fail—and why a free press is essential to prevent America from following the same path.


Oliver Darcy
Aug 3, 2025

Anne Applebaum has spent decades chronicling the rise of authoritarianism and the collapse of democratic norms around the world. In her latest piece for The Atlantic, appearing on this week’s cover, she turned her attention to Sudan, where a brutal civil war has displaced millions of people. Applebaum made two difficult trips to the country—crossing the desert with rival militias and government forces—to witness firsthand the lawlessness that fills the vacuum when institutions fail.

In a conversation with Status, she explained why Sudan’s tragedy is a warning for the U.S. as it drifts further from the post-war role it has played in geopolitics, with Donald Trump in his second term. Applebaum also discussed the hollowing-out of independent media and why decisions like Paramount’s payout to Trump matter in the slide toward autocracy.

Below is our Q&A, lightly edited for style.

SNIP*

After the election last November, I understood that we had come to the end of an era. A second Trump term meant that geopolitical changes I have been describing for a long time—weaker international institutions, disregard for human rights and the rule of law, the rise of dictatorships—will now become permanent. I write a lot about what this means in Europe, Ukraine, and Russia, but I wanted to understand the wider consequences. What does the post-American world look like from Sudan, where a civil war has displaced more people than in Ukraine and Gaza combined?
https://www.status.news/p/anne-applebaum-autocracy-interview