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Although the current year was already shaping up to be the most challenging period of the century regarding the post-1945 rules-based world order, recent days has been among the most devastating so far. The Israeli government further ignored obligations for international conventions after deploying a squadron of warplanes toward the Gulf state, striking representatives from Hamas engaged in ceasefire talks within Qatar’s capital. The last meaningful forum aimed at dialogue may now have gone up in smoke.

At least 19 Russian drones violated the territorial skies of Poland. For the first time, allied military aircraft was engaged against enemy targets within the borders of a member nation. Whether the incursion was a technical mishap or deliberate probing by Moscow, as western experts believe, this was “the closest we have been to open conflict since the second world war,” Poland’s prime minister, the head of government, said.

And then, a prominent conservative voice, a firebrand conservative activist and close Donald Trump ally, was assassinated during a speech to university attendees and Maga supporters at a Utah university. Without evidence of the shooter’s identity or motives, the former president quickly accused left-wing extremists,” accusing them for using language that led directly to acts of terror occurring currently across the nation today.”

Asked how the divided nation could heal following the murder, Trump said he “couldn’t care less”. His explanation for that was chilling: “The radicals on the right act aggressively since they don’t want to see crime … The radicals on the left pose the real threat – and they are vicious and horrible and politically savvy.” This is how polarisation hardens into tribalism. Thus the spiral of hatred accelerates toward irreversible conflict.

Actually, over 75% of deaths linked to extremism across America in the past decade were perpetrated by individuals on the far right, with the radical left responsible for only a fraction of them. Trump condemned ideologically motivated attacks broadly a day later – yet omitted mention of a series of recent of attacks against Democrats, including several killings. From his perspective, the problem is always “them”, never the “wonderful Americans” constituting his base.

The political and cultural aftershocks of Kirk’s death will no doubt unfold over the next month, but the biggest danger amid deep divisions involves this event becomes the Reichstag fire in contemporary times. That arson attack which occurred in early 1933 signaled Germany’s shift from fragile democracy to outright dictatorship. Hitler, freshly installed as chancellor, seized the moment to eliminate the freedoms of the Weimar constitution – free speech, media independence, association, public gathering.

“Anyone who stands in our way will be cut down,” he declared, surveying the arsoned building. Numerous leftist activists were jailed, even elected representatives within the legislature. With the left neutralised, the ruling party quickly cemented control.

In today’s US, Kirk’s death has gripped the country, galvanising the Maga movement and Trump’s supporters, a fact he recognizes. The white supremacist, Matt Forney, demanded the arrest of all opposing lawmakers, explicitly labeling the killing as the movement’s turning point.

The reality is, this incident serves as that could rescue a struggling administration scarred by a sharp drop in employment figures, currency devaluation, and real estate turmoil. Trump mourned Kirk like a lost relative, but the rhetoric suggested this would be focused equally on targeting opponents rather than justice. Immediately following the assassination, he vowed to go after all individuals of those who contributed in this tragedy … including the organisations providing backing.” He singled out George Soros, a donor to liberal causes and Democrat donor. “He’s a bad guy,” he informed a news outlet, he deserves imprisonment.”

The motive behind Kirk’s killing remains unclear. Ideological leanings belonging to the attacker, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, appear as muddled similar to Thomas Matthew Crooks, a young man who tried to kill Trump at a rally. Is this truly the radical left attacking the radical right – or is it the strange, chaotic subculture from internet forums entering reality? The slogans engraved upon the bullet casings in Utah read less like an ideological manifesto than a crude bricolage of immature jokes and virtual world allusions.

Yet concerns arise that suppression of “unwilling” academics, lawyers, journalists, civil servants, military officers, and judges in the US will intensify. Already, online responses have led to a wave of sackings and diplomatic staff have warned non-citizens against endorsing or joking about the murder, instructing consulates to implement measures toward individuals who do.

The former president has often prospered amid turmoil and instability. When genuine emergencies are absent, he fabricates them – including imagined crime pandemics in Los Angeles, Washington DC and Chicago. Manufactured unrest fuels his power grab. Now he has been handed chaos on a silver platter. No wonder he couldn’t care less about national unity.

This incident offers an ideal justification to strengthen control, silencing dissent, and centralizing authority – enabling future leaders may inherit full state control, regardless of charisma, merit or mandate. After all, all authoritarian regimes has to be built first; once entrenched, it is simpler to maintain.

Democratic systems and international frameworks are far from perfect, yet they provided stability, advancement and prosperity – the very opposite of authoritarianism. Implying that America, the architect of the postwar order, could soon slide into full-blown autocracy, with rulers adopting historical extremist mindsets, could appear unlikely.

But from another vantage point, it is quite plausible. Totalitarianism was still within living memory during the upbringing of individuals within contemporary Western nations came of age. From Belgium to Bulgaria, numerous households retain memories of the death, destruction, hatred and destitution resulting from oppressive regimes. If Americans want to save coming years, they may want to consult historical lessons.