How to Recognize Electoral Authoritarianism?

“Either we have an authoritarian regime, or a democracy – there is no such thing as a hybrid regime. There is no compromise between repression and freedom”, was a key statement heard on the panel “How to Recognize Electoral Authoritarianism”.

Francesco Ronchi, visiting professor at Columbia University and a representative of the Directorate for Democracy Support of the European Parliament, expressed this view, noting that when people “want to soften the authoritarianism” of a regime, they talk about hybrid regimes.

But what happens when, in these autocratic regimes, elections are used as a tool to gain and then consolidate power?

“Today’s autocrats don’t come to power through coups or force, but by legitimate means, including elections”, said Michael Angeloni, a researcher at Protect Democracy, adding that once in power, autocrats “slice democracy piece by piece until they consolidate their rule”.

There are several steps to this consolidation, but Angeloni emphasized: “The politicization of independent institutions is one of the earliest and deadliest steps for democracy”.

And while they are “slicing up democracy”, autocrats employ sophisticated methods. Masaaki Higashijima, associate professor of comparative politics at the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, explained that autocrats don’t necessarily resort directly to electoral fraud but use other strategies.

One such strategy, he said, is the strategy of economic distribution – if they have strong political parties, autocrats can bribe citizens to gain support. Additionally, Higashijima pointed out that open electoral manipulation is often absent when autocratic leaders have sophisticated methods of spreading disinformation and propaganda.

At that point, the media become a weapon. Zsofia Banuta, co-founder and director of Unhack Democracy, explained how this looks in Hungary. She said that after the 2022 elections, the country entered “a new era – an era of depression” because hopelessness among citizens is “pervasive”.

“Media are used as a weapon to discredit, instill fear and conduct cunning campaigns against journalists, opposition leaders and civil society”, Banuta said.

Even in regimes that are far from democratic – in which only opposition parties lose elections – a response is needed. The panelists on “How to Recognize Electoral Authoritarianism?” agreed that strengthening civil society, advocating for legal frameworks and especially ensuring that international support is present even during the non-electoral periods, are crucial responses. It is during these periods that autocrats are thinking and planning all the ways to manipulate the voters’ will.