I think the thing that’s baffling me is this: why? What’s the emergency, fake or otherwise, that governments are using to become so totalitarian. Seems like they’re just … going for it without even a fig leaf to hide behind.
It's a fight for survival.
Usually there’s a cover story for such actions. A Reichstag fire, or a terrorist attack that makes a turn towards authoritarianism a necessity. I don’t see how one exists here other than “NATO scary”.