IMPORTANT CONCEPTS AND AUTHORITARIAN STATES
All authoritarian leaders rise to power for the following reasons:
1. Existing weak leadership
Authoritarianism can grow out of problems with power in a democracy or another authoritarian regime. There are many reasons why an authoritarian regime might grow weak. As all power is often centralized within one or a handful of individuals, weakness could grow out of bad decision-making, a tendency to appeal to an increasingly narrow group of elites at the expense of others, illness or old age. As authoritarian leaders often create environments that encourage competition, their subordinates could pounce on any sign of weakness and replace them. In a democracy, this weakness can occur in different ways. For example, if democratic leaders are thought not to be able to solve acute national problems, the perception of democracy can suffer. This is especially problematic in countries where democracy is not firmly established. Democracy can also be undermined in favor of authoritarianism when politicians, in the interest of playing politics, decide not to defer to democratic process or traditions in order to achieve their goals. War or economic crises are often the factors that place governments under the most stress and expose internal problems.
2. Economic crises
As stated above, economic crises, if not coherently or adequately addressed, can place governments under great scrutiny from their populations. War can often contribute to underlying economic weaknesses and exacerbate them. Almost important as the public perception of the efficacy of the government response is the manner in which this response affects section of the population. Which groups suffer the most from economic distress and who bears the brunt of paying for any recovery?
3. Social divisions
In turn, economic distress can expose and further cause damage to existing social divisions. This can create resentment in a section of the population to another and can happen along (or even across) religious, cultural, regional or ethnic lines. If the group of resentment becomes a large bloc of the total population, the chances of effective political leaders emerging to challenge the leadership increases.
4. Exploitation of popular fears
These leaders are more often than not adept at exploiting this resentment and stoke other common fears, not only socio-economic fears but also concerns related to race, religion, class and different regions. These leaders use existing social structures to unite large sections of the population and create a "them vs. us" mentality that can threaten social norms, damage the notion of a civil society and pave the way to violence.
5. Ideology
These leaders can also offer their followers an appealing ideology that further unites them in opposition to the existing government. Often this ideology is one of 'negative cohesion', which seeks to unite people by using scapegoats and creating targets for anger. Rather than exhorting people to unite in favor of something they believe in, sections of society are united by a common disagreement or something or someone they disapprove of or dislike.
6. Nationalism
Finally, these would-be authoritarian leaders invoke nationalism in order to increase their popular support, elevating the perception of their ideals in the eyes of their followers. This signifies that their ideas must carry greater weight and significance if they can successfully tie them to the notion of nationhood.
1. Existing weak leadership
Authoritarianism can grow out of problems with power in a democracy or another authoritarian regime. There are many reasons why an authoritarian regime might grow weak. As all power is often centralized within one or a handful of individuals, weakness could grow out of bad decision-making, a tendency to appeal to an increasingly narrow group of elites at the expense of others, illness or old age. As authoritarian leaders often create environments that encourage competition, their subordinates could pounce on any sign of weakness and replace them. In a democracy, this weakness can occur in different ways. For example, if democratic leaders are thought not to be able to solve acute national problems, the perception of democracy can suffer. This is especially problematic in countries where democracy is not firmly established. Democracy can also be undermined in favor of authoritarianism when politicians, in the interest of playing politics, decide not to defer to democratic process or traditions in order to achieve their goals. War or economic crises are often the factors that place governments under the most stress and expose internal problems.
2. Economic crises
As stated above, economic crises, if not coherently or adequately addressed, can place governments under great scrutiny from their populations. War can often contribute to underlying economic weaknesses and exacerbate them. Almost important as the public perception of the efficacy of the government response is the manner in which this response affects section of the population. Which groups suffer the most from economic distress and who bears the brunt of paying for any recovery?
3. Social divisions
In turn, economic distress can expose and further cause damage to existing social divisions. This can create resentment in a section of the population to another and can happen along (or even across) religious, cultural, regional or ethnic lines. If the group of resentment becomes a large bloc of the total population, the chances of effective political leaders emerging to challenge the leadership increases.
4. Exploitation of popular fears
These leaders are more often than not adept at exploiting this resentment and stoke other common fears, not only socio-economic fears but also concerns related to race, religion, class and different regions. These leaders use existing social structures to unite large sections of the population and create a "them vs. us" mentality that can threaten social norms, damage the notion of a civil society and pave the way to violence.
5. Ideology
These leaders can also offer their followers an appealing ideology that further unites them in opposition to the existing government. Often this ideology is one of 'negative cohesion', which seeks to unite people by using scapegoats and creating targets for anger. Rather than exhorting people to unite in favor of something they believe in, sections of society are united by a common disagreement or something or someone they disapprove of or dislike.
6. Nationalism
Finally, these would-be authoritarian leaders invoke nationalism in order to increase their popular support, elevating the perception of their ideals in the eyes of their followers. This signifies that their ideas must carry greater weight and significance if they can successfully tie them to the notion of nationhood.
