U.S. Has a “Checkered History” of Toppling Authoritarian Regimes

Mar 9, 2026

1 min

Paul Fritz

In a Newsday article about Long Island Iranian-Americans’ reactions to recent developments involving Iran’s leadership, Dr. Paul Fritz, associate professor and chair of Hofstra’s Department of Political Science, discussed the history of the United States toppling authoritarian regimes, which, he said, rarely leads to new democracies or stable leadership without extensive American support.



“The Trump administration is banking on the people rising up and demanding some change to the regime,” Dr. Fritz said. “Foreign imposed regime change doesn’t work very often.”
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Paul Fritz

Paul Fritz

Associate Professor of Political Science

Professor Fritz specializes in international relations, with concentrations on international security and US foreign and defense policy.

Foreign PolicyPolitical ScienceTerrorismInternational SecurityInternational Relations
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