Rule of law has been badly undermined in the United States, though not gone. The USA long ago adopted the #dualState described by German Jewish lawyer, #ErnstFraenkel It is baked into its constitution.
#normativeState for white, cis, gendered landowning men. A #prerogativeState for everyone else.
#normativeState for white, cis, gendered landowning men. A #prerogativeState for everyone else.
January 12, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Rule of law has been badly undermined in the United States, though not gone. The USA long ago adopted the #dualState described by German Jewish lawyer, #ErnstFraenkel It is baked into its constitution.
#normativeState for white, cis, gendered landowning men. A #prerogativeState for everyone else.
#normativeState for white, cis, gendered landowning men. A #prerogativeState for everyone else.
#DualState #NaziGermany #ErnstFraenkel #TrumpAdministration #PoliticalDissent #NormativeState #PrerogativeState #Lawlessness #StateViolence #PoliticalParallels #USPolitics #Authoritarianism #TargetedSuppression #PoliticalViolence #ConstitutionalCrisis #LegalSystem #PoliticalLoyalists #Insurrection
![Is America Headed Towards a "Dual State" Like Nazi Germany?
The article "America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State" draws parallels between the current political situation in the United States and the rise of Nazi Germany, using Ernst Fraenkel's concept of the "dual state" as a framework[5].
Fraenkel, a Jewish labor lawyer who fled Nazi Germany in 1938, wrote "The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship," which explains how the Nazi regime maintained a capitalist economy with stable laws while simultaneously establishing a domain of lawlessness and state violence[5].
The dual state consists of two coexisting parts:
1. The "normative state": The regular legal system with rules, procedures, and precedents[5].
2. The "prerogative state": A parallel zone where "unlimited arbitrariness and violence unchecked by any legal guarantees" reign[5].
The article argues that the United States is witnessing the birth of a new dual state under the Trump administration. While the normative state continues to function for most citizens, a prerogative state is being constructed through various measures, including:
- Pardons that encourage insurrectionary violence
- Purges of career lawyers and officials
- Appointments of loyalists to key positions
- Attacks on judges enforcing the law
- Threats of criminal prosecutions for unfavorable speech[5]
The author warns that the danger of the dual state lies in its capacity for targeted suppression. Most people can ignore the prerogative state because it doesn't affect their daily lives, but once established, it can potentially engulf anyone[5].
The article concludes by noting that building a dual state doesn't necessarily lead to genocide, citing examples like Putin's Russia and Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. However, it emphasizes that the deepest similarity among these systems is their intolerance of political dissent while leaving the majority of citizens undisturbed[5].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3epzqefaicyxkh2z3fywbmy5/bafkreiaac3meljh2bgollndinkjwjiit5jg3awx73rq3f53m5f55zprgca)
![Citations:
[1] https://www.europenowjournal.org/2022/03/23/legal-sabotage-ernst-fraenkel-in-hitlers-germany-by-douglas-g-morris/
[2] https://www.theatlantic.com
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_state_(model)
[4] https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/09/05/polarization-democracy-and-political-violence-in-united-states-what-research-says-pub-90457
[5] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/05/trump-executive-order-lawlessness-constitutional-crisis/682112/
[6] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/05/reinventing-america/556856/
[7] https://www.lawbookexchange.com/pages/books/56961/ernst-fraenkel-e-a-shil/the-dual-state-a-contribution-to-the-theory-of-dictatorship
[8] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/the-autocrats-are-winning/620526/
[9] https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1906&context=uclrev
#DualState #NaziGermany #ErnstFraenkel #TrumpAdministration #PoliticalDissent #NormativeState #PrerogativeState #Lawlessness #StateViolence #PoliticalParallels #USPolitics #Authoritarianism #TargetedSuppression #PoliticalViolence #ConstitutionalCrisis #LegalSystem #PoliticalLoyalists #Insurrection #JudicialAttacks #PoliticalPurges #USGovernance #HistoricalParallels #PoliticalAnalysis #DemocracyThreats #PoliticalIntolerance](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3epzqefaicyxkh2z3fywbmy5/bafkreicrrwzzxyxkfnci6r3fmkeq6zquanfx3pnbu266bzfpjqjdloz7uu)
March 24, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Track of the day. Sometimes you gotta dial your workday focus up to 11 and this song will do it. Especially if you listen to it on repeat like me. #productivity #normativestate #gottapaybillsdespitefascism
Echoes of Life by John Tejada on Apple Music
Song · 2021 · Duration 5:55
music.apple.com
March 9, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Track of the day. Sometimes you gotta dial your workday focus up to 11 and this song will do it. Especially if you listen to it on repeat like me. #productivity #normativestate #gottapaybillsdespitefascism