Democratic to Authoritarian Rule Teach-Out

This Teach-Out uses a series of terms that are necessary to understand the transition from democratic to authoritarian rule. Some of the terms are contested and have multiple meanings -or can mean different things to different people. For the sake of establishing a consistent understanding throughout the Teach-Out, we provide below this glossary to indicate how specific terms are being used in the course of lectures and discussions.

• Authoritarianism: A system of government in which an individual or a small group of powerful elite exercise control and in which loyalty and obedience are prized rather than safeguards to protect citizen rights and freedoms. Alternative centers of power are restricted, minorities are made into scapegoats, those in power do not tolerate political opposition, and often use power for their personal economic or political gain.
• Autocracy: A political system in which power is centralized in a single individual who is accountable neither to laws, nor people through regular competitive elections, nor the political institutions through which power is exercised. Totalitarian regimes and authoritarian political systems can be autocratic, but need not be so.
• Capitalist Democracy (or Democratic Capitalism) combines a democratic political system with a capitalist economic system. Capitalist democracies emphasize a private sector driven, market-based economy and a pluralist culture.
• Competitive Authoritarianism: A form of authoritarian rule in which leaders come to gain power through electoral competition, but use existing instruments of government and create policies to consolidate their power using state agencies and means. Some examples of competitive authoritarianism include post-Soviet Russia or Serbia under Slobodan Milosevic.
• Democracy: A system of government in which people govern themselves, either directly or through representatives that they elect. Many theorists of democracies also identify a number of other characteristics of democracies beyond free and fair elections. These include: active citizen participation in politics and civic life; protection of minorities and human rights; rule of law where law and legal procedures apply equally to all citizens; freedom of expression and of press; and presence of a strong political opposition.
• Fascism: Both a political ideology, and a mass movement that found its greatest expression in post-world war-1 Europe, particularly in Germany and Italy. Fascism, also called national socialism. Fascists believe in the dominant role of elite in shaping the destiny of both a people and a country, and the need for a militarized nationalism. Elections, liberal cultural and social values, and democratic competition are anathema to fascist ideologies.
• Illiberal Democracy: See Competitive Authoritarianism.
• Liberal Democracy: A political ideology and form of government characterized by representative democracy, with an emphasis on free and fair elections, rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, and guarantees of political freedoms and human rights to citizens. Most western democracies can be viewed as liberal democracies, despite differences between their parliamentary and presidential forms.
• Pluralism: A political doctrine that recognizes multiple sources of authority, influence, and centers of power. Pluralism is criticized by some researchers and scholars on the grounds that despite its alleged commitment to multiple sources of power, pluralist systems are often not in fact committed to recognition of diverse points of view and power.
• Populism: A “thin” ideology which stands for the interests and power of people against the interests of different elites and intellectuals. There are both right and left wing forms of populism, but the defining feature of populism is an attempt to emphasize that people are being marginalized. Populist leaders often claim that they alone are capable of fixing the problems confronting their societies or countries. Populist claims often undermine the interests of minorities and the rule of law.
• Totalitarianism: A form of government that seeks to exercise absolute control over citizens and permits no political opposition. The government claims to represent all aspects of the nation and its people. In the twentieth century, Fascist control such as in Hitler’s Germany or in Mussolini’s Italy, or socialist control as was exercised in Stalin’s Russia are viewed as being synonymous with totalitarianism.