What does a democracy need in order to be stable? Democracies across all of time have all encountered issues and, in many cases, failed in one way or another. One particularly damaging force is violence. You might think this is just a sophomoric interpretation, but violence is at the root cause of many destablising societal problems. It is often overlooked or dismissed until its in your face as the cause of numerous societal problems. Violence makes a society feel less safe, can make further violence feel more acceptable, and can erode democratic institutions.
Violence makes societies less safe. Everyone understands this on a basic level, but lets consider the further implications of this. To use an negative example, the city I grew up in had very little crime, never had a school shooting, and overall had a good atmosphere. I never felt unsafe walking outside or even leaving my house unlocked. I recently met a friend who comes from Milwaukee. And their experiences are the complete opposite - it feels unsafe to walk outside alone, locking houses and cars is an absolute must, and there was always some anxiety in the air. I'm not saying all of Milwaukee was like this, but just the specific neighborhood that they were living in at the time. An investigation by The Trace (a national non-profit who investigates this kind of stuff), finds that Milwaukee ranks the second nationally for shootings in neighborhoods near schools, with over 400 a year. This leads to people feeling less safe, as is further explained in the TMJ4 news article.
Violence begets more violence. Take school shootings, as an example. The number varies based on how you define it (whether you include higher ed, or only include incidents with casualties), but 2025 has the most number based on Wikipedia's definition. I did a few searches for incidents on University of Wisconsin campuses, and many of the 13 campuses have had incidents, one being in 2025 at UW Platteville. You can look at any other state and see a similar pattern. The regularity of this violence only serves to make more violence feel acceptable. It is a negative feedback loop.
Violence destroys democratic institutions. Violence itself makes individuals feel less safe in their communities, which depresses the political process. It dampens free expression and limits free assembly. Political violence is violence specifically targeted at political institutions. A recent example is the assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman. The increase in acceptance of political violence increases the rate of violent acts against the political process. Brookings.edu goes further in detail about political violence and American democracy. It is important to understand that violent acts do not have to physically destroy a system. If voters feel intimidated to vote a certain way, if judges feel pressure, if congressmembers are targeted, these can all weaken and compromise the democratic process.
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| Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist, was assassinated at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. His death has been used as an example of increasing political violence in the United States. (image sourced from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY KSL News Utah) |
Further reading:
Milwaukee safety: https://www.tmj4.com/about-us/lighthouse/too-close-to-class-tmj4-investigation-reveals-more-than-4-100-shootings-happened-near-milwaukee-schools
Political violence and American democracy: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/political-violence-in-the-us/
Is political violence rising in America: https://govfacts.org/long-term-challenges-future/democratic-challenges/political-violence-extremism/is-political-violence-rising-in-america/
Dramatic rise of school shootings: https://www.facs.org/media-center/press-releases/2024/study-quantifies-dramatic-rise-in-school-shootings-and-related-fatalities-since-1970/
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