Authoritarian rule involves a small group of leaders managing state power without reserving deference to citizens or the sentiments of the international community. They use a range of tactics to stifle civil society and create allegiance through social control, the use of coercive force and manipulation of the economy. These regimes often emerge in destabilized nations, filling a power vacuum created by the collapse of a previous regime. This type of rule is associated with kleptocracy and corruption, and has been observed in Pol Pot’s Cambodia (1975-79), Mobutu’s Zaire (now Congo) (1962–88) and the Soviet Union during the Cold War (1939–91).
Authoritarianism is often characterized by a cult of personality, a remaking of institutions to reinforce executive power, and a manipulation of legal or pseudo-legal rationales to gut laws and seize unconstitutional powers. They divide and rule, foment mistrust and fear with falsehoods that elicit support from key constituencies and undermine the public’s belief in truth. They also rewrite laws, repackage old policies into new ones with misleading names, stack key institutions with compliant allies, and declare national emergencies to seize unprecedented powers.
These leaders use violent outbreaks to advance their efforts to restrict civil liberties and expand the power of security forces. Inflaming violence offers political cover for stifling dissent and can inspire voters to turn out in competitive elections. While healthy democratic actors eschew such tactics, effective autocrats use these strategies sparingly and deliberately.
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