Countries emerging from periods of autocratic abuses of power, despite the diversity of their experiences, grapple with a common question: what measures can be taken to fortify against the specter of history repeating itself?

In light of the scope and scale of transgressions perpetrated by Trump administration officials, should the U.S. pursue accountability for wrongdoings? The question suggests a host of others: What do we mean by accountability? Accountability for what, and for whom? Accountability by whom? Accountability by what means?

Protect Democracy interrogates these questions in Towards Non-Recurrence. The white paper presented in the following section introduces a framework for assessing and designing accountability efforts for Trump-era transgressions in service of democratic recovery and reform.

For a PDF version of this white paper, click here.