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If the current year had already been poised as the most challenging period in modern history for the post-1945 rules-based world order, the past week proved to be among the most devastating so far. Israel deepened its disregard for international conventions after deploying a squadron of warplanes toward the Gulf state, striking representatives from Hamas participating in peace negotiations in Doha. The last meaningful forum aimed at dialogue may now have gone up in smoke.

No fewer than 19 Russian drones violated the territorial skies of Poland. In an unprecedented move, allied military aircraft were deployed to counter hostile objects inside a Nato country. Regardless of if this violation resulted from an error or intentional testing from Russia, according to analysts in the West, it represented “the closest we have been to open conflict after WWII,” Poland’s prime minister, the head of government, stated.

Subsequently, a prominent conservative voice, an outspoken right-wing figure and close Donald Trump ally, was assassinated while addressing university attendees and political followers at a Utah university. Without evidence of the shooter’s identity or intentions, the former president quickly accused “those on the radical left,” accusing them for using language that led directly to acts of terror that we’re seeing in our country today.”

When questioned about a polarized country could heal following the murder, he responded he was indifferent”. The reasoning provided for that was chilling: Right-wing extremists act aggressively since they oppose criminal activity … Leftist activists pose the real threat – and they are dangerous and despicable and strategically clever.” In this manner political division hardens into tribalism. Thus cycles of hostility accelerates toward irreversible conflict.

Actually, over 75% of deaths linked to extremism in the US in the past decade were perpetrated by rightwing extremists, with the radical left responsible for only a fraction of them. The former president denounced political violence broadly a day later – but did not acknowledge a series of recent of attacks against Democrats, including several killings. To him, the issue remains always “them”, never the “wonderful Americans” constituting his core followers.

The political and cultural aftershocks from the assassination will no doubt unfold in the coming weeks, yet the gravest risk amid deep divisions is that this event transforms into a Reichstag fire in contemporary times. That arson attack which occurred in early 1933 marked Germany’s pivot from fragile democracy to outright dictatorship. Hitler, freshly installed as chancellor, seized the moment to extinguish basic rights under previous governance – free speech, press, association, assembly.

“Anyone who stands in our way will be cut down,” he said, surveying the damaged structure. Numerous leftist activists were jailed, including all 81 Communist deputies in parliament. Once opposition was suppressed, the Nazis quickly cemented control.

In today’s US, Kirk’s death has captivated the nation, energizing political bases and Trump’s supporters, a fact he recognizes. The white supremacist, a controversial commentator, demanded the arrest of all opposing lawmakers, openly claiming the murder as the movement’s Reichstag fire moment.

In truth, here is the event a potential rescue an increasingly unpopular presidency plagued with significant declines in job numbers, a weakening dollar, and real estate turmoil. Trump mourned Kirk like a lost relative, but the rhetoric suggested this would be as much about pursuing Trump’s enemies rather than justice. Immediately following the murder, Trump promised to go after “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity … including the organisations that fund and support it.” He singled out a billionaire philanthropist, a donor to liberal causes and political contributor. He is dangerous,” Trump told NBC News, he deserves imprisonment.”

The motive behind Kirk’s killing are still unknown. The political views belonging to the attacker, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, seem confused as those of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20 year old who tried to kill the former president in Pennsylvania. Does this represent the radical left attacking right-wing figures – or is it the strange, chaotic subculture of online niches entering reality? Phrases engraved upon ammunition shells at the scene appear unlike a political statement and more like a mix of immature jokes and virtual world allusions.

But it is hard not to fear that suppression of dissenting scholars, lawyers, media workers, government employees, military officers, and judges in the US will intensify. Thus far, online responses have led to multiple instances of terminations and US state department officials have cautioned non-citizens against endorsing or make light of the murder, directing embassies to implement measures against any foreigners engaging in such behavior.

Trump has long thrived amid turmoil and instability. When genuine emergencies are absent, he fabricates them – including imagined crime pandemics in Los Angeles, the capital and urban centers. Fake chaos fuels his power grab. Now he has been handed chaos on a silver platter. No wonder he couldn’t care less about national unity.

The shooting offers an ideal justification for tightening his grip, silencing dissent, and centralizing authority – enabling future leaders to assume total governmental power, regardless of personal appeal, qualifications or mandate. Ultimately, any autocratic system has to be built first; after consolidation, it is simpler to maintain.

Liberal democracy and international frameworks have flaws, yet they provided peace, advancement and economic growth – the antithesis of authoritarianism. To suggest that America, the architect of the postwar order, could soon slide into full-blown autocracy, with rulers adopting historical extremist mindsets, could appear unlikely.

However, alternatively, it is quite plausible. Totalitarianism remained recent history when many of us even at the heart of modern democratic Europe were growing up. From Belgium to Bulgaria, numerous households retain memories of fatalities, destruction, animosity and destitution that authoritarianism leaves behind. If Americans want to save their near future, they should examine our recent past.