Kucinskas, J. C. (2025). The Loyalty Trap. Conflicting Loyalties of Civil Servants Under Increasing Autocracy. Columbia University Press, 440 Seiten, 120,00 US-$ (geb.), 30,00 US-$ (kart.), 29,99 US-$ (E-Book).

Abstract

In this work, Kucinskas offers a close-up perspective on the dismantling, the attempted dismantling, or the reshaping of the U.S. administrative state under the Trump administration. The empirical basis for the study consists of interviews with 77 officials—predominantly members of the Senior Executive Service—conducted during various phases of the first Trump term. She concludes that democratic backsliding can occur “more quickly and more seamlessly than most Americans would suppose”. Furthermore, she argues that the professional culture of the civil service, which in stable times was considered a safeguard of democracy, proves to be “shamefully inadequate” in preserving the democratic state under an autocratic leadership. The implications for the second term of Trumps presidency are not hard to see in this remarkable book.