CAMBRIDGE – The Trump administration’s “flood the zone” strategy can make it difficult to see when a turning point occurs in the United States’ slide into authoritarianism. Some might say this is an objective of the strategy, which is built on gradual encroachments on people’s rights and institutional checks. But the killing of two US citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis this month may just be that turning point.

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A key distinguishing feature of authoritarian governments is their ability to use excessive force against opponents. Every government uses coercive tactics in policing, but there are clear thresholds. The British government can use force to clear some spaces of protesters. But various institutional checks and the strength of norms against authoritarianism make it unthinkable for the police to engage in the indiscriminate killing of protesters in the........

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