competitive authoritarianism

plural competitive authoritarianisms

1. countableuncountableA hybrid regime, a form of authoritarianism that still allows electoral competition.

   Near-synonym: illiberal democracy

   1 more example

   Over the last two decades, countries like Turkey, Hungary, Venezuela and India gave the world a lesson on how democracy can erode into “competitive authoritarianism” — a system in which elections are still meaningful, but leaders manipulate the rules to their own benefit, while systematically violating civil liberties.

   2025 March 28, Amanda Taub, “For Some Autocrats, Even Rigged Elections Can Be Too Much of a Threat”, in The New York Times, →ISSN