Questions about Authoritarianism
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is authoritarianism and how is it defined?
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Political scientist Juan Linz defined it in a 1964 work as possessing four qualities: limited political pluralism, legitimacy based on appeals to emotion, minimal political mobilization, and ill-defined executive powers that shift to extend the executive's reach.
How does authoritarianism differ from totalitarianism?
Authoritarianism seeks to suppress politics and political mobilization, while totalitarianism seeks to control and actively use them. Authoritarian regimes allow social and economic institutions not under government control and rely on passive mass acceptance rather than active popular support. Totalitarian states impose near-total control over social, political, economic, cultural, and religious life and are characterized by an official ideology, a ruling party of loyal supporters, and a secret police.
What are the main subtypes of authoritarian regimes?
Barbara Geddes identified seven typologies: dominant party, military, personalist, monarchic, oligarchic, indirect military, and hybrid regimes. Juan Linz described traditional authoritarian regimes (relying on appeals to traditional legitimacy and patron-client ties) and bureaucratic-military authoritarian regimes (governed by coalitions of officers and technocrats). Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way coined the term "competitive authoritarian regime" in their 2010 book to describe civilian systems where democratic institutions exist but incumbents use state resources to maintain a decisive structural advantage.
What is coup-proofing in authoritarian regimes?
Coup-proofing refers to structures authoritarian leaders build to prevent small groups from seizing power. Strategies include placing family, ethnic, and religious loyalists in military positions, creating armed forces parallel to the regular military, and establishing multiple overlapping internal security agencies that monitor one another. A 2016 study found that succession rules specifically reduce coup attempts by giving elites a credible reason to wait rather than plot.
What does research show about authoritarianism and economic development?
A 2019 study by Daron Acemoglu, Suresh Naidu, Pascual Restrepo, and James A. Robinson found that democracy increases GDP per capita by about 20 percent over the long term. In 2010, Dani Rodrik concluded that democracies outperform autocracies on long-term growth, stability, resilience to external shocks, human capital investment, and economic equality. Amartya Sen observed that no functioning liberal democracy has ever suffered a large-scale famine.
How has the global spread of authoritarianism changed since 2000?
Before 2000, new dictatorships typically began with a coup replacing a pre-existing authoritarian regime. Since 2000, the most common path has been democratic backsliding, where a democratically elected leader establishes an authoritarian regime from within. V-Dem data shows that in the late 1990s, 72 countries were trending more democratic and only 3 more authoritarian; by 2021, those figures had reversed to 15 trending democratic and 33 trending authoritarian. Freedom House's 2020 report marked the fourteenth consecutive year of declining scores globally.