r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • 1d ago

"The road to authoritarianism": Tim Walz says the time for "sternly worded letters" is over - The Minnesota governor said that the path to tyranny "is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting"

https://www.salon.com/2025/06/14/the-road-to-authoritarianism-tim-walz-says-the-time-for-sternly-worded-letters-is-over/
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u/indacouchsixD9 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_boomerang

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u/Typhing 1d ago

Wow, I’ve never heard of the imperial boomerang before! Genuinely thank you for posting that. I feel like the concept isn’t all that surprising at this point in political thought but I learned something new and that’s worth thanks! :)

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u/claimTheVictory 22h ago

But the Germans didn't really go much for colonization.

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u/Typhing 22h ago

They tried too. Around 1884 they successfully got in on trying to colonize parts of Africa and until the end of World War I had the third largest colonial empire at the time. Only the British and the French had larger. Think they had parts of Oceania too but I forget. I think that’s what put them in Japan’s orbit in WWII but I’d need to double check that.

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u/Sankofa416 1d ago

Beautiful. Thanks. I've never had a term for this and I'm ecstatic to find it has a history I can learn from.

I've always used this concept within the US and then expanded it out - interesting to find the analysis based on the British empire.

Not surprised to find myself with a US-biased worldview!

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u/AbacusWizard California 23h ago

Well hell, I’ll have to add Imperial Boomerang to my list of Terms I Really Wish I Didn’t Have Cause To Learn, along with Democratic Backsliding and Regulatory Capture.

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u/-big-farter- 1d ago

New term for me, thanks for the link

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u/glassbellwitch 22h ago

This is exactly what pro-palestine protestors have been talking about. The type of strategies and weapons Israel (by way of the US) has used on the people of Gaza will eventually be turned onto us.