Editor's note: Andrew Korybko is a Moscow-based American political analyst. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Attorney General William Barr's announcement on Monday that the Department of Justice designated New York City, Portland, and Seattle as "anarchist jurisdictions" at the risk of losing their federal funding has created yet another fault line in American society. The federal government accused these cities' leaders of not doing anything to address their uncontrollable political-racial unrest and crime waves, also taking issue with their decision to reduce police funding during this crisis. This state of affairs is unprecedented in U.S. history.

The Civil War was the only time when the federal government lost control of part of the country, but that conflict can't be compared to the present since the latter is more complex, multifaceted, and unconventional. Without directly saying as much, the Trump Administration is strongly implying that these Democrat-led cities are passively facilitating mass unrest for political reasons by refusing to intervene. There's no declaration of war, but there's observably a dereliction of legal duty which has led to anti-state violence.

This contrasts with the Civil Rights Era against which the Antifa-Black Lives Matter unrest is often compared. Back then, protesters were fighting against legally enshrined racism, whereas now their battle cry is against what they perceive to be systemic racism, even that which isn't always consciously expressed. Nevertheless, this noble cause has been abused by political radicals and criminal elements, though local authorities refuse to intervene since they're wagering that this unrest will galvanize the pro-Democrat anti-Trump vote.

Their predecessors half a century ago were wrong for abusing Civil Rights protesters for political reasons, and those cities' contemporary leaders are equally wrong for allowing Antifa-Black Lives Matter protesters to riot and abuse the property and lives of the majority of law-abiding citizens. Police intervention back then was unjustified, whereas now it's perfectly legitimate. The Democrats are therefore playing politics by openly encouraging anarchy for electioneering purposes, but the Republicans also aren't innocent either.

Trump regularly boasts about being the "law and order" candidate, yet all he did was tweet and shout for several months while America burned. He didn't want to proverbially cross the Rubicon by taking control of the situation against the will of the local elected leaders who should have normally followed protocol by requesting further security support. Cynics can therefore rightly claim that he, just like his opponents, wanted America to burn for similar electoral reasons, albeit the opposite ones related to galvanizing the Republican vote instead.

Not only that, but CNN made an excellent point in one of their recent articles on this topic. They wrote that "It's also notable that cities located in Wisconsin or Minnesota – which have seen unrest this summer but are considered competitive in the presidential election – are not included." If Trump was serious about fully cracking down on Antifa-Black Lives Matter unrest and the resultant anarchy that local Democrats arguably facilitate, then he'd have designated cities in those states and others as "anarchist jurisdictions" too.

While the Democrats and Republicans play politics in the U.S. "anarchist jurisdictions" and elsewhere across the country, average Americans suffer. Those living in afflicted areas deserve law, order, safety, but also respect. Not meaningfully addressing the uncontrollable political-racial unrest, crime waves, and their causes (including police brutality which may or may not be racially motivated) is a disservice to those citizens who might feel as if they have no choice but to flee their cities in fear. Both parties are to blame for not addressing these issues.

Designating New York City, Portland, and Seattle as "anarchist jurisdictions" is therefore little more than a symbolic move, which might easily be reversed if Biden wins in November. It doesn't bring safety and security to the Americans who live in fear of what's happening, and if anything, it'll probably prompt more outward migration from those municipalities if Trump wins re-election and their federal funding is cut. Instead of resolving this crisis, all political sides are exacerbating the socio-economic cycle of unrest for political reasons.

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