Autoritaarsust

Autoritaarsust, or authoritarianism, is a form of government characterized by centralized power in a leader or small ruling group. Political authority is not heavily constrained by broad public participation, and competitive elections, if they exist, are limited or used mainly to legitimize rulers. Civil liberties, freedom of the media, and opposition organizations are frequently restricted, and checks and balances on rulers are weak or absent.

In authoritarian regimes, power is maintained through control of security forces, censorship, surveillance, and patronage networks. Legal rules are applied selectively, and the judiciary often serves the executive. Some authorities tolerate limited economic openness or nominal institutions, a pattern described as soft or competitive authoritarianism when authorities permit partial pluralism but suppress meaningful political competition.

Typologies include personalist regimes (power centered on a single figure), one-party states, and military juntas. Hard forms rely on coercion and propaganda, while milder forms may tolerate limited dissent or civil society with strict red lines. Distinctions between authoritarianism and totalitarianism hinge on the scope and intensity of political control and ideological mobilization.

Scholars measure autocratization with indicators of political rights, civil liberties, electoral integrity, and media freedom, using organizations such as Freedom House or Varieties of Democracy. The concept is debated: some view authoritarianism as a durable condition, while others emphasize its potential to shift, appear temporarily, or coexist with formal institutions that mask repression.