Every Fourth of July invites celebration of one of the most consequential political events in modern history. The Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 did much more than create a new nation. It introduced a revolutionary idea—that legitimate government derives its authority from the consent of the governed rather than inherited privilege or imperial power. That proposition inspired liberation movements across continents and profoundly influenced constitutional development throughout the world.
Over the next two centuries, the United States established institutions that many societies sought to emulate. Federalism, judicial independence, separation of powers, freedom of expression, academic excellence and a vibrant civil society became defining features of the American experiment. Its greatest contribution was not military superiority or economic wealth. It was the belief that constitutional government could restrain arbitrary power and protect individual liberty.
However, history also teaches that republics are not destroyed overnight. Their decline is often gradual. Institutions are weakened incrementally, public discourse becomes increasingly polarised, wealth acquires disproportionate influence over politics, and executive authority gradually expands at the expense of constitutional restraints. The challenge confronting America today must therefore be viewed through this broader historical lens rather than through the personality of any single political leader.
Donald J Trump’s return to the White House has undoubtedly accelerated this debate. His supporters argue that he is restoring American sovereignty, reviving domestic industry, securing borders and dismantling an entrenched bureaucracy.
Trump’s critics contend that his administration is undermining constitutional conventions, weakening institutional checks and balances, deepening political polarisation and redefining America’s traditional role in the international order. Whatever one’s political preference, few would dispute that the United States is passing through one of the most consequential constitutional moments since the end of the Cold War.
This transformation, however, did not begin in 2025, nor even in 2017. The turning point may be traced to the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The attacks profoundly altered American governance. National security increasingly became the organising principle of state policy. Military interventions expanded across continents. Surveillance powers widened. Executive authority grew stronger. The constitutional republic that had long inspired the world gradually evolved into a permanent national security state.
The invasion of Iraq on the false premise of weapons of mass destruction marked one of the gravest blows to American moral authority. Subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq consumed enormous financial resources, destabilised entire regions and left behind consequences that continue to shape international politics. The promise of spreading democracy increasingly appeared intertwined with geopolitical competition, strategic resources and military dominance.
Years ago, we argued that America had moved from being an enviable constitutional democracy towards a hegemonic state driven by militarism, corporate interests and perpetual conflict. Events since then have reinforced rather than weakened that assessment.
Withdrawal from Afghanistan restored neither peace nor stability. Strategic rivalry with China has intensified. Relations with Russia remain deeply adversarial. The devastating wars in Ukraine and Gaza have further exposed the limitations of military solutions to fundamentally political problems. Increasingly, allies and adversaries alike question not America’s military capability but the consistency of its commitment to the very principles it once championed.
America’s internal divisions are equally troubling. George Floyd’s killing in 2020 reminded the world that the struggle against racial injustice remains unfinished. The subsequent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 exposed unprecedented political fractures.
Multiple criminal prosecutions of a former president, followed by his electoral return to office, demonstrated both the resilience and fragility of American democracy. Confidence in public institutions—including Congress, the media and other national institutions—has steadily declined, while political discourse has become increasingly tribal.
The second Trump presidency has introduced another phase of constitutional experimentation. Sweeping immigration enforcement, attempts to restructure the federal bureaucracy, confrontation with sections of the judiciary, aggressive tariff policies affecting friends and competitors alike, and renewed emphasis on unilateral nationalism represent a significant departure from the post-war American consensus.
Whether these measures amount to constitutional renewal or institutional erosion will remain a subject of scholarly debate for years to come. Yet one reality is unmistakable: the United States is redefining itself before the eyes of the world.
Another profound transformation has received comparatively less attention. The twenty-first century has witnessed an unprecedented concentration of economic power. Technology corporations now exercise influence that often rivals sovereign governments.
Artificial intelligence, digital platforms, algorithmic control over public discourse and immense political financing have fundamentally altered democratic politics. Yesterday’s military-industrial complex has increasingly been supplemented by a technological-corporate complex capable of shaping public opinion, influencing elections and redefining the relationship between citizens and the state.
Simultaneously, America’s fiscal position raises difficult questions. Federal debt has crossed thirty-seven trillion dollars, while annual defence expenditure approaches one trillion dollars. Interest payments consume an ever-growing share of public finances. Economic inequality remains among the highest in the developed world despite extraordinary technological progress. These realities illustrate the paradox of contemporary America: unprecedented innovation coexisting with widening disparities of wealth and opportunity.
History nevertheless cautions against simplistic conclusions. America has repeatedly demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for self-correction. It abolished slavery after a devastating civil war. It dismantled legal segregation despite entrenched resistance. It produced giants of conscience such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, James Baldwin and many others who transformed the nation’s moral landscape. It nurtured scholars such as Edward Said, Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, whose intellectual courage challenged official orthodoxies and reminded successive governments that patriotism is often expressed through dissent rather than conformity.
This enduring America still exists. Its universities, independent journalists, civil rights organisations, constitutional lawyers, community activists and countless ordinary citizens continue defending values that transcend partisan politics. They represent the America envisioned by its founders—a republic governed by law rather than personality, by institutions rather than individuals.
The struggle therefore is not simply between Republicans and Democrats. Nor is it merely between Trump and his opponents. It is a contest between two competing visions of the republic. One conceives national greatness primarily through military strength, economic dominance, border security and executive authority. The other believes America’s enduring greatness lies in constitutional restraint, independent institutions, pluralism, social justice and the equal dignity of all human beings irrespective of race, religion or origin. This is not an unfamiliar dilemma.
Years ago, reflecting upon Pakistan’s own experience with authoritarianism, we argued that nations fail to recover from the legacy of dictators when successive civilian governments begin imitating rather than dismantling authoritarian methods.
Institutions become weaker because power gradually concentrates in individuals rather than remaining subject to constitutional discipline. The same historical lesson deserves reflection everywhere. Democracies do not become stronger when executive authority expands unchecked, regardless of who occupies public office.
As the United States commemorates the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, the world watches with admiration but also with concern. The question is no longer, whether America possesses unmatched economic, military or technological capabilities. It unquestionably does.
The real question is whether it can once again persuade the world that constitutional government, equality before law, respect for dissent and the supremacy of institutions over personalities remain the true foundations of lasting national greatness.
History shows that republics rarely perish because of foreign enemies alone. More often they decline from within—when fear replaces liberty, when wealth captures politics, when institutions surrender to personalities and when constitutional restraint gives way to the temptations of concentrated power.
America’s founders understood this danger better than anyone did. Their greatest legacy was not merely independence from Britain but the creation of a constitutional order designed to restrain human ambition itself. Whether that legacy can be renewed in the twenty-first century will determine not only America’s future but also the continuing credibility of constitutional democracy throughout the world.
