Authoritarianism in US State Policy and its Impact on Nonprofit Civil Liberties

Abstract Across the globe, there has been a selective closure of civic space and a corresponding increase in scholarly research exploring the impact of authoritarianism on civil society organizations. This article examines the rollback of nonprofit First Amendment rights in U.S. states, an area overlooked to date by civil society scholars. A framework for categorizing authoritarian strategies used against nonprofits outside the U.S. is applied to current U.S. state policies and tested against a compilation of U.S. state laws and executive actions restricting nonprofit activity. A case study conducted in Texas involving interviews with migrant-serving nonprofits demonstrates the impact of these policies on direct service organizations on the ground. This analysis documents a new state authoritarianism that is restricting nonprofit service and advocacy space. The key conclusion is that U.S. nonprofit scholars should pay closer attention to the downstream effects of American authoritarianism as nonprofit civil liberties and behavior are being curtailed.