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Authoritarianism

Also called: Autocracy · Authoritarian rule · Authoritarian government

Authoritarianism is rule by a leader or small group that answers to no one, and the belief that order and obedience matter more than political freedom.

Compare yourself See the 12 scores
Authoritarianism on 12 axes-100 to +100
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where it stands

Authoritarianism, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+10
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets-10
    PlannedFree

    Authoritarian states have run everything from free-market economies under generals to heavy state planning, so the money axes land near the middle.

  3. 03Welfare+5
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority+90
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security+90
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+60
    LocalCentral
  7. 07Morality+50
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Many authoritarian rulers present themselves as defenders of traditional values and public order, but this is a habit, not a rule.

  8. 08Religion+20
    SecularReligious

    Some autocrats worked hand in hand with a church or clergy. Others ran strictly secular states and kept religion on a short leash.

  9. 09Technology+10
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10Culture+60
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade+35
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy+60
    CooperationStrength

What is Authoritarianism?

Authoritarianism is a way of ruling and also a set of beliefs about how to rule. Power is held by one person, a party, an army or a royal family, and no voters, courts or newspapers can effectively hold it to account. Rivals are banned or boxed in, and civil rights are cut back. It is different from totalitarianism. An authoritarian ruler usually does not have a grand ideology and does not try to run every corner of daily life. Ordinary people can often work, worship and raise families in peace, as long as they stay out of politics.

Core beliefs

  • Stability and security come before political freedom.
  • One firm hand governs better than noisy, divided politics.
  • Dissent can be restricted when it threatens the unity of the country.
  • Obeying rightful authority is a duty of good citizens.
  • Parliaments and elections, if they exist, should not box in the ruler.
  • Press, protest and public groups can be controlled to keep the peace.

History

Rule without consent is as old as kings and empires. In Leviathan (1651), Thomas Hobbes argued that people should hand power to a single sovereign rather than risk civil war. The twentieth century saw many such regimes: royal dictators and generals in interwar Europe, Franco in Spain, Salazar in Portugal, and military or one-party rulers across Latin America, Africa and Asia during the Cold War. The scholar Juan Linz studied Franco's Spain and in the 1960s gave a famous definition. In his view such regimes allow limited pluralism, lack a guiding ideology, avoid mass mobilisation and rule within loose but fairly predictable limits. Earlier, in 1950, Theodor Adorno and his colleagues published The Authoritarian Personality, which asked what kind of person is drawn to strong rulers.

Variants

Scholars sort these systems by who holds power. There are military juntas, personal dictatorships built around one man, one-party states and absolute monarchies. A newer label is competitive or electoral authoritarianism. Votes take place, but the ruler controls the media, the courts and state money, so the contest is never fair. Some thinkers also defend developmental authoritarianism, the claim that a firm government can drive faster economic growth.

Criticisms

Critics say authoritarian rule takes away basic rights and breeds corruption, because rulers face no real check. They point to jailed opponents, torture and censorship. Democrats add that without free elections there is no peaceful way to remove a bad leader or fix a mistake. The growth argument is disputed too: for every fast-growing autocracy, there are several that stayed poor. Defenders reply that in deeply divided or very poor societies, strong rule may be the only thing standing between order and civil war.

In practice

Real cases differ a lot. In Chile, Pinochet's military government from 1973 to 1990 mixed harsh repression with free-market reform. Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore for decades under one dominant party, with a tame press and very fast growth. Many such regimes have fallen to democracy, as in Spain, Portugal, South Korea and much of Latin America, while others have lasted for generations. On the 12 axes the profile leans to Strong leader on Authority and to Order on Security, with the money axes close to the middle.

How close are you to Authoritarianism?

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Authoritarianism: questions

Are authoritarian governments left-wing or right-wing?

Both kinds exist. Authoritarian rule is about how power is held, not which economic policy it follows, so there have been communist one-party states and right-wing military regimes. On the 12 axes, the economic scores sit near the middle.

Authoritarianism vs democracy: what is the main difference?

In a democracy, voters can remove leaders and courts, the press and opposition parties can limit them. In an authoritarian system these checks are weak or missing, so the ruler is hard to challenge or replace.

Do authoritarian rulers allow people any freedom?

Often yes, in private life, business and worship, as long as no one challenges those in power. That is a key difference from totalitarian states, which try to control nearly everything people think and do.

Further reading