How to Stop Authoritarianism with Scot Nakagawa

About this episode

Scot Nakagawa discusses the stages of authoritarianism and strategies to combat it in the U.S.

Authoritarianism unfolds in stages, it doesn’t happen overnight. In this episode, longtime organizer and Executive Director of the 22nd Century Initiative Scot Nakagawa breaks down how authoritarian movements rise, where the United States is right now, and what it will take to stop consolidation before it’s too late. Drawing on nearly four decades of experience confronting white nationalism and anti-democratic movements, Scot explains the real strategy behind efforts like Project 2025, the importance of federalism, and why the 2026 election cycle is a critical turning point. He also shares how pro-democracy movements can shift from protest to real power through non-cooperation, labor action, and mass mobilization. This episode is a roadmap for how to build cross-partisan movements, why “joy is resistance,” and what it means to create a democracy that actually works after authoritarianism is defeated. Subscribe to Scot’s Substack, The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook: https://antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/ Learn more about the 22nd Century Initiative: https://22ci.org/ Are you ready to join #unifyUSA? Learn more about the transformational movement at https://unify-usa.org/ Get…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Paul Zeitz

Guest: Scot Nakagawa

Topics covered

• authoritarianism
• democracy
• pro-democracy movements
• non-cooperation
• labor action
• mass mobilization
• cross-partisan movements

Keywords

• authoritarianism
• democracy
• Project 2025
• non-cooperation
• labor action
• mass mobilization
• cross-partisan movements
• 2026 election
• white nationalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 22nd Century Initiative, Project 2025, unifyUSA, Wavestream Me

Books & works: Hit Refresh on the U.S. Constitution: A Revolutionary Roadmap for Fulfilling the Promise of Democracy, Revolutionary Optimism: Seven Steps for Living as a Love-Centered-Activist