authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is a form of governance in which power is concentrated in a leader or small group that is not constitutionally constrained by broad political rights and civil liberties. In such systems, political pluralism is limited, opposition parties are restricted or suppressed, and elections, if held, are often tightly managed to preserve the ruling authority.

Key features include centralized control of the state, suppression of dissent, censorship and propaganda, weak or subordinated independent judiciaries, and reliance on coercion, surveillance, patronage, or ideological mobilization to maintain legitimacy. Leaders may rule by decree, with decision-making concentrated in a narrow circle rather than through competitive, rule-based processes.

Authoritarian regimes take various forms, including personalist regimes built around a single leader, military regimes, and single-party states. Some regimes tolerate limited social and economic freedoms or operate through bureaucratic institutions while restricting political rights. The distinction from totalitarianism lies in scope and intensity: totalitarian systems seek comprehensive transformation of society and private life, whereas authoritarian systems prioritize political control and stability, offering limited pluralism and fewer attempts to reshape society completely.

Scholars measure authoritarianism through indicators such as political rights, civil liberties, rule of law, media freedom, and independence of institutions. The persistence of authoritarian governance is often explained by coercive capacity, a regime’s legitimacy, economic factors, and concerns about instability, though many regimes face domestic or international pressures toward reform.