Technically speaking, an illiberal democracy could be any democracy that is not a liberal democracy. However, the term is almost always used to denote a particularly authoritarian kind of representative democracy, in which the leaders and lawmakers are elected by the people, but tend to be corrupt and often do not respect the law. This has the effect of cutting off the people from real power. It is this type of "illiberal democracy" that is discussed in the present article. The term illiberal democracy tends to be used with a negative connotation, by those who oppose such a system of government and support liberal democracy.

Illiberal democracies are found primarily outside of the West, in newly democratizing countries that do not have a history of pluralism. Without such a tradition of different ideas co-existing peacefully, the ruling party or leader—after winning multi-party elections that are mostly free and fair—behaves in a manner that violates the constitutional rights and liberties of the general population.

There is a spectrum of illiberal democracies: from those who are nearly liberal democracies to those that are almost dictatorships. Examples can be found across Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East and North America. The mid-to-late 1990s was a period marked by a growing emergence of illiberal democracies.

An illiberal democracy is marked by the tension between how a government is selected and how that government behaves. Illiberal democratic governments believe they have a mandate to act in any way they see fit, disregarding laws or the constitution if they desire, as long as they hold regular elections. They often centralize powers both between branches of the national government (violating the separation of powers) and between different levels of government and private associations. The former is more noticeable, the latter more common.

Another characteristic is that the lack of rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly make opposition to the rulers extremely difficult. Television and radio is often controlled by the state and strongly support the regime. Non-governmental organisations may face onerous regulations or simply be prohibited. The regime may use red tape, economic pressure, or even violence against critics.

See also

• Liberal democracy
• Representative democracy
• Political corruption
• Totalitarian democracy

References

• The Rise of Illiberal Democracy, Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, November/ December 1997
• Liberalism and Democracy: Can't have one without the other, Marc Plattner, Foreign Affairs, March/ April 1998

Democracy

Onvrije democratie