nondemocratic

Nondemocratic is a political descriptor applied to systems in which the government does not derive or retain authority through free and fair elections and in which civil liberties and political rights are restricted. In scholarly use, the term contrasts with democracy but does not specify a single form of government; nondemocratic regimes can range from elected-authoritarian systems to outright autocracies or totalitarian states.

These regimes vary along a spectrum. Some maintain formal elections or legislatures but restrict opposition, media, and civil liberties (often described as competitive or electoral authoritarian). Others exclude genuine political competition altogether and concentrate power in a single ruler or small ruling group. The boundaries between categories can be blurred, and regimes may employ varying blends of coercion, co-optation, and limited pluralism.

Common features include restrictions on political rights, censorship and control of information, suppression of opposition, and a judiciary subordinated to political authorities. State security services or internal intelligence agencies typically wield broad powers, and civil society organizations may face legal or extralegal constraints. Economic and social controls can accompany political repression, sometimes with ideologies that legitimize centralized rule.

Measurement and usage: Political scientists use indices such as Freedom House’s assessments of political rights and civil liberties, or the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, to gauge the degree of nondemocracy. The term is descriptive and analytical, applied to a range of regimes rather than to a single model. See also democracy, autocracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and competitive democracy concepts.