Opinion: A Rising Threat to Democracy -Authoritarianism
Characterized by a strong centralized government that lacks the proper checks and balances and a political system that rejects political plurality and public dissent, Authoritarianism is on the rise around the globe. The increase in authoritarian leaders threatens democracy and puts millions at risk. Democracy, or rule by the people, is endorsed by most intergovernmental organizations, such as the UN, because it benefits human rights. While Democracy, due to its slow progress and constant shifts in power, is far from perfect, its faults are the very things that keep leaders’ power in check.
Passing new legislation in a democratic system can be a long and drawn-out process. The slow nature of democratic governments can cause national concern, and while the concern is understandable, some hesitation can also be beneficial to ensure that decisions are not made recklessly.
The primary reason legislation takes time and effort to pass is that politicians must reach a consensus across political parties, ultimately reflecting the population better. The strongest democracies typically have a healthy and active minority party. A minority party is crucial in keeping a nation in check because it means that not one group of people holds too much power in the government—an example of checks and balances that authoritarian regimes lack. This particular check of needing bipartisan support on most bills allows for a more fair and just system of governing.
However, democracies are delicate and can be unraveled. Within the last ten years, there has been a surge of authoritarian governments and back-sliding democracies. Back-sliding democracies, sometimes referred to as anocracies, are countries with a weak or unstable democracy, putting them somewhere in between democratic and autocratic rule.
In 2019, the internationally respected Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) declared the U.S. an anocracy. While the country was recently reinstated as a democracy, this time of black-sliding puts into perspective how easily democracy can falter. The Westminster Foundation for Democracy has estimated that by 2026, less than 5% of the world’s population will live in a full democracy.
The common qualities of authoritarian leaders and the governments they create pose a severe threat to personal liberties and human rights. The Democracy Project, a U.S. non-profit working to strengthen democracy, has outlined several tactics in the Authoritarian playbook, with some of the most impactful being Consolidating Power, Scapegoating Minorities, Projecting Strength, and Controlling the Media.
We can directly pinpoint many of these traits and actions in authoritarian leaders around the globe. Using this knowledge of authoritarian qualities, we can better predict authoritarian threats and work to prevent them. The proof for these claims is all around us; we must pay attention to them.
For example, in the eastern European country of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, nicknamed Europe’s last dictator, has been in power since 1994. He famously maintains his control by consolidating power and leaving no room for dissent. Just two years after he was appointed president in 1996, a referendum was held that gave Lukashenko total control of the executive and judicial branches, the Central Election Commission, the local executive committees, the unions, the military and law enforcement structures, television channels, and the most significant newspapers.
This consolidation of power by Lukashenko removed the checks and balances that governments relied on to minimize corruption. The parliament also lost the power to hold their leader accountable, making Lukashenko essentially above the law. This was the start of one of the most brutal dictatorships in post-Cold War Europe.
Both Putin, the authoritarian leader of Russia, and Lukashenko also use the common authoritarian strategy of Scapegoating. Scapegoating is a way of shifting the focus away from the government and blaming a minority group for a country’s problems, a pattern plaguing history like a pandemic. Putin often attacks the queer community calling homosexuality “a weapon of the EU to weaken Russia,” while Lukashenko attacks Jewish people, causing a rise in antisemitism in Belarus. Both dictators use these minority groups to distract the public and pit their citizens against each other to avoid any revolts.
Moving eastward, another highly authoritarian regime is the Berdimuhamedows in Turkmenistan. According to Human Rights Watch, Turkmenistan is “one of the world’s most isolated and oppressively governed countries.” Serdar Berdimuhamedows currently runs the country, but the former dictator of Turkmenistan, Serdar’s father, Gurbanguly, was famous for Projecting Strength with propaganda videos, programs, and fake news.
One propaganda video that gained traction online showed the former president lifting a gold rod and receiving a standing ovation from his party. Several other videos of him exist in which he fires weapons and throws knives to impress his troops. Berdimuhamedow was an archetype of dictators who project a strong facade to gain respect among the people, a trait likely to continue with his son's reign.
One of the most well-known current cases of authoritarianism is China’s Xi Jinping. Since becoming president in 2013, Xi began cracking down on resistance, cementing his power. A crucial part of maintaining his power involves Controlling the Media. Freedom House found that the state took control of several major media outlets and sponsored a state-run newspaper that is one of the most popular in the country.
However, Xi’s control of the media goes beyond newspapers and news channels. The censorship of information online is staggering, with much of China’s past removed and illegal to access. Famously, if you search for the Tiananmen Square Massacre, a protest that killed anywhere between 200 to 10,000 people, no information comes up; it has all been censored by the state. By erasing the country's history of protest, Xi keeps his citizens ignorant and subdued, allowing himself to rule unchallenged.
In conclusion, authoritarianism and the tactics used by authoritarian leaders have been on the rise worldwide. There are billions of people suffering from human rights abuses under corrupt authoritarian regimes whose leaders are too power-hungry to care. It is vital in our modern world that the people are able to identify these traits in politicians and leaders to preserve their democratic system.
A threat to democracy is a threat to fundamental freedoms and rights. While challenging, democracy is necessary to maintain a just system, and preserving this system on a global scale should be one of humanity’s top priorities.
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