Authoritarianism

This article is about authoritarianism in political science and organizational studies. For authoritarianism in psychology, see Authoritarian personality. For a form of government where power is held by a single individual, see Autocracy.

Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party, the military, or the concentration of power in a single person. States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have sometimes been characterized as "hybrid democracies", "hybrid regimes" or "competitive authoritarian" states.

The political scientist Juan Linz, in an influential 1964 work, An Authoritarian Regime: Spain, defined authoritarianism as possessing four qualities:

1. Limited political pluralism, which is achieved with constraints on the legislature, political parties and interest groups.
2. Political legitimacy based on appeals to emotion and identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat "easily recognizable societal problems, such as underdevelopment or insurgency."
3. Minimal political mobilization, and suppression of anti-regime activities.
4. Ill-defined executive powers, often vague and shifting, used to extend the power of the executive.

Minimally defined, an authoritarian government lacks free and competitive direct elections to legislatures, free and competitive direct or indirect elections for executives, or both. Broadly defined, authoritarian states include countries that lack human rights such as freedom of religion, or countries in which the government and the opposition do not alternate in power at least once following free elections. Authoritarian states might contain nominally democratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures and elections which are managed to entrench authoritarian rule and can feature fraudulent, non-competitive elections.

Since 1946, the share of authoritarian states in the international political system increased until the mid-1970s but declined from then until 2000. Prior to 2000, dictatorships typically began with a coup and replaced a pre-existing authoritarian regime. Since 2000, dictatorships are most likely to begin through democratic backsliding whereby a democratically elected leader established an authoritarian regime.

Characteristics

Authoritarianism is characterized by highly concentrated and centralized government power maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential or supposed challengers by armed force. It uses political parties and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime. Adam Przeworski has theorized that "authoritarian equilibrium rests mainly on lies, fear and economic prosperity."

Authoritarianism also tends to embrace the informal and unregulated exercise of political power, a leadership that is "self-appointed and even if elected cannot be displaced by citizens' free choice among competitors", the arbitrary deprivation of civil liberties and little tolerance for meaningful opposition. A range of social controls also attempt to stifle civil society while political stability is maintained by control over and support of the armed forces, a bureaucracy staffed by the regime and creation of allegiance through various means of socialization and indoctrination. Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart identify authoritarianism in politicians and political parties by looking for values of security, conformity, and obedience.

Authoritarianism is marked by "indefinite political tenure" of the ruler or ruling party (often in a one-party state) or other authority. The transition from an authoritarian system to a more democratic form of government is referred to as democratization.

Constitution

Constitutions in authoritarian states may serve a variety of roles, including "operating manual" (describing how the government is to function); "billboard" (signal of regime's intent), "blueprint" (outline of future regime plans), and "window dressing" (material designed to obfuscate, such as provisions setting forth freedoms that are not honored in practice). Authoritarian constitutions may help legitimize, strengthen, and consolidate regimes. An authoritarian constitution "that successfully coordinates government action and defines popular expectations can also help consolidate the regime's grip on power by inhibiting re coordination on a different set of arrangements." Unlike democratic constitutions, authoritarian constitutions do not set direct limits on executive authority; however, in some cases such documents may function as ways for elites to protect their own property rights or constrain autocrats' behavior.

The Soviet Russia Constitution of 1918, the first charter of the new Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (RSFSR), was described by Vladimir Lenin as a "revolutionary" document. It was, he said, unlike any constitution drafted by a nation-state. The concept of "authoritarian constitutionalism" has been developed by legal scholar Mark Tushnet. Tushnet distinguishes authoritarian constitutionalist regimes from "liberal constitutionalist" regimes ("the sort familiar in the modern West, with core commitments to human rights and self-governance implemented by means of varying institutional devices") and from purely authoritarian regimes (which reject the idea of human rights or constraints on leaders' power). He describes authoritarian constitutionalist regimes as (1) authoritarian dominant-party states that (2) impose sanctions (such as libel judgments) against, but do not arbitrarily arrest, political dissidents; (3) permit "reasonably open discussion and criticism of its policies"; (4) hold "reasonably free and fair elections", without systemic intimidation, but "with close attention to such matters as the drawing of election districts and the creation of party lists to ensure as best it can that it will prevail – and by a substantial margin"; (5) reflect at least occasional responsiveness to public opinion; and (6) create "mechanisms to ensure that the amount of dissent does not exceed the level it regards as desirable." Tushnet cites Singapore as an example of an authoritarian constitutionalist state, and connects the concept to that of hybrid regimes.

Current list of countries

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of states characterized as authoritarian, as seen in the sources in the Notes and references column. Countries listed also are not rated as democracies by The Economist Democracy Index, as 'free' by Freedom House's Freedom in the World index or reach a high score at V-Dem Democracy Indices.

State	Time period	Ruling group or person	Notes and references
Afghanistan	1996–2001; 2021–	Taliban	Totalitarian theocratic state. It has reached the last place in The Economist Democracy Index.
Angola	1975–	MPLA	Authoritarian party system
Azerbaijan	1993–	New Azerbaijan Party	Hereditary dictatorship
Bahrain	1783–	House of Khalifa	Absolute monarchy
Belarus	1994–	Alexander Lukashenko
Burundi	2005–	CNDD–FDD	Ethnic-based authoritarian rule
Cambodia	1979–	Cambodian People's Party
Cameroon	1982–	Paul Biya
Chad	1990–	Déby family	Hereditary dictatorship under Déby family.
China	1949–	Chinese Communist Party	China received 9 out of 100 points in Freedom House's 2024 Global Freedom Score. The party promotes itself as 'consultative' on local issues and some scholars describe the Chinese system as "a fragmented authoritarianism" (Lieberthal), "a negotiated state", or "a consultative authoritarian regime."
Republic of the Congo	1969–1992; 1997–	Congolese Party of Labour	Under authoritarian ruler
Cuba	1959–	Castrism	Totalitarian ideology that maintains the one-party system
Djibouti	1977–	People's Rally for Progress
Egypt	2014–	Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
El Salvador	2019–	Nayib Bukele
Equatorial Guinea	1979–	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Eritrea	1993–	Isaias Afwerki	Eritrea is considered a totalitarian dictatorship without elections.
Eswatini	1968–	House of Dlamini	Absolute monarchy
Ethiopia	2018–	Abiy Ahmed	Abiy Ahmed and his party considered "authoritarian" by some activists and dissents. He is considered by some a "charming dictator".
Hong Kong (Special administrative region of China)	2020–	Pro-Beijing camp (Hong Kong)	Since the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Hong Kong government began cracking down on pro-democracy activists, politicians, and news outlets, which is considered by many to be a sign of rising authoritarianism in Hong Kong.
Iran	1979–	Assembly of Experts	After the Iranian Revolution, Iran became a totalitarian clerical state (nominally an "Islamic republic") based on the absolute authority of the unelected Supreme Leader of Iran, based on the strict Shia concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist.If it has the opportunity, this legal body will remove reformist politicians. In 2000, Juan José Linz wrote that "it is difficult to fit the Iranian regime into the existing typology, as it combines the ideological bent of totalitarianism with the limited pluralism of authoritarianism and holds regular elections in which candidates advocating differing policies and incumbents are often defeated."
Israel	1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–	Benjamin Netanyahu	Though officially a democratic state, its treatment of Palestinians have been seen as authoritarian.
Jordan	1946–	Hashemites	Semi-constitutional monarchy
Laos	1975–	Lao People's Revolutionary Party	One party system
Mali	2020–	Assimi Goita	Military dictatorship
Morocco	1957–	Alaouite dynasty	Absolute monarchy
Mozambique	1975–	FRELIMO	De-facto dominant party.
Myanmar	1962–	Tatmadaw	The Tatmadaw allowed a democratically elected administration to exercise some power from 2016 to 2021, without allowing civilian control of the military.
Nicaragua	1979–1990; 2007–	Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo
North Korea	1949–	Workers' Party of Korea under Kim Dynasty	Hereditary dictatorship. Some scholars consider North Korea to be the most totalitarian country.
Oman	1970–	House of Al Said	Absolute monarchy
Palestine	1964–	Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas
Qatar	1971–	House of Thani	Absolute monarchy
Russia	2000–	Vladimir Putin	Had continuously ruled since 2000 as both president and prime minister.
Rwanda	2000–	Paul Kagame	Authoritarian ruler supported by own ethnic group
Saudi Arabia	1934–	House of Saud	Absolute monarchy.
Serbia	2012–	Serbian Progressive Party under Aleksandar Vučić	Dominant party system headed by populist-authoritarian leader
South Sudan	2011–	Sudan People's Liberation Movement under Salva Kiir Mayardit
Sudan	2021–	Abdel Fattah al-Burhan	Military junta
Tajikistan	1994–	Emomali Rahmon
Togo	1967–	Eyadema Family	Hereditary dictatorship. After reaching the term limit, Gnassingbe transformed the presidential system into a parliamentary one with himself at the head of the council of ministers.
Tunisia	2019–	Kais Saied	See also 2019 Tunisian presidential election and 2021 Tunisian self-coup.
Turkey	2003–	Justice and Development Party under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	It has been described by observers as a "competitive authoritarian regime". Erdoğan changed the parliamentary system to a presidential one with him as president.
Turkmenistan	2006–	Berdimuhamedow Family	Effectively a totalitarian hereditary dictatorship.
United Arab Emirates	1971–	Royal families of the United Arab Emirates	Effective diarchic monarchies
United States	2017–2021; 2025–	Donald Trump	See also Trumpism.
Uganda	1986–	Yoweri Museveni	Autocratic ruler
Uzbekistan	1989–	Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
Venezuela	1999–	Chavismo under Delcy Rodríguez
Vietnam	1976–	Vietnamese Communist Party	Sole party system
Zimbabwe	1980–	ZANU-PF	Authoritarian party system

Historical

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of states which were historically authoritarian.

State	Time period	Ruling group or person	Notes and references
Albania	1946–1992	One party rule under Enver Hoxha and Ramiz Alia
Algeria	1999–2019	Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Argentina	1946–1955	Justicialist Party under Juan Perón	See also Peronism.
	1966–1973	Military government	See also the Argentine Revolution.
	1973–1976	Justicialist Party under Juan and Isabel Perón
	1976–1983	Jorge Rafael Videla	See also the National Reorganization Process.
Austria	1933–1938	Christian Social Party under Engelbert Dollfuß and Fatherland Front under Kurt Schuschnigg	See also the Federal State of Austria and Ständestaat.
Bangladesh	2009–2024	Awami League under Sheikh Hasina
Brazil	1937–1945	Getúlio Vargas	See also the Vargas Era.
	1964–1985	Military dictatorship in Brazil	Started with the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.
Bulgaria	1878–1944	House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Later de facto authoritarian rule under Boris III	Authoritarian rule more prevalent after 1935 after the counter-coup to the 1934 coup d'état
	1944–1990	Communist one-party state rule, particularly under Todor Zhivkov
Burma	1962–2011	Military government and the Burma Socialist Programme Party	Started with the 1962 Burmese coup d'état and ended with the 2011–2012 Burmese political reforms.
Burundi	1961–1993	UPRONA
Confederate States of America	1861–1865	Jefferson Davis	Herrenvolk republic with a "democracy of the white race".
Chad	1982–1990	Hissène Habré	Habré was deposed by Idriss Déby, he was tried in Senegal for crimes against his country and died in prison months after the man who removed him from power died in combat.
Chile	1973–1990	Government Junta under Augusto Pinochet	Started with the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.
Republic of China	1927–1949	Kuomintang and Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek	The Republic of China on Taiwan is listed further below.
Democratic Kampuchea	1975–1979	Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia under Pol Pot	Totalitarian one-party regime that instigated the Cambodian genocide.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1997–2019	Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Joseph Kabila	Zaire is listed further below.
Croatia	1941–1945	Ustaše under Ante Pavelić	See also Independent State of Croatia
	1990–1999	Croatian Democratic Union under Franjo Tuđman
Czechoslovakia	1938–1939	Party of National Unity
Egypt	1952–2011	Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak
Equatorial Guinea	1968–1979	Francisco Macias Nguema
Ethiopia	1974–1991	Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Workers' Party of Ethiopia
Ethiopia	1991–2019	Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
Fiji	2006–2022	FijiFirst
France	1793–1794	Committee of Public Safety, a provisional government during the Reign of Terror under Maximilien Robespierre.	See also the French Revolution.
Gabon	1961–2023	Gabonese Democratic Party	Ali Bongo is overthrown in a military coup.
Gambia	1994–2017	Yahya Jammeh	Jammeh is overthrown by democratic elections and is forced to resign.
Nazi Germany	1933–1945	National Socialist German Workers' Party	See also Nazism.
Greece	1936–1941	Fascist rule under Ioannis Metaxas
	1967–1974	Military junta under Constantine II, Georgios Zoitakis, and Georgios Papadopoulos
Guinea	1958–2021	Ahmed Sekou Touré, Lansana Conté, Moussa Dadis Camara and Alpha Condé	Guinea was marked by a series of authoritarian rulers who denounced previous regimes on democratic issues.
Guinea-Bissau	1980–1999	João Bernardo Vieira	Nino Vieira would govern in an authoritarian manner in the 80s and 90s until his overthrow, in 2005 he returned to the presidency until his assassination in 2009.
Hungary	1920–1944	Miklós Horthy and the Unity Party
	2010–2026	Fidesz under Viktor Orbán	Dominant party system headed by populist-authoritarian leader. See also Orbanism.
Indonesia	1959–1998	Sukarno and Suharto	See also the Guided Democracy era and the New Order.
Iran	1925–1979	Pahlavi dynasty
Iraq	1968–2003	Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein
Italy	1922–1943	National Fascist Party
Empire of Japan	1931–1945	Hirohito and the Imperial Rule Assistance Association
Liberia	1886–1980	True Whig Party	Party that ruled Liberia for more than 100 years and the monopoly was overthrown by the 1980 Liberian coup.
	1980–1990	Samuel Doe	The Liberian president ends up captured and executed for a long time in the middle of a Civil war.
Kazakhstan	1990–2022	Amanat	Formerly named Nur Otan. The incumbent president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev renounced his party membership, establishing in the amendments of the second republic that no president should have affiliation with any party.
Libya	1969–2011	Muammar Gaddafi	Started with the 1969 Libyan coup d'état and ended with the 2011 Libyan Civil War.
Lithuania	1926–1940	Antanas Smetona	Ended in the Soviet occupation.
Macedonia	2006–2016	Nikola Gruevski
Mali	1968–1991	Moussa Traoré	Moussa is deposed in the 1991 Malian coup d'état and sentenced to death twice, exonerated in May 2002.
Massachusetts Bay Colony	1630–1691