The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy

Abstract

Based on our observations and scholarship about how democratic norms are currently being undermined, we propose a model of fascist authoritarianism that includes authoritarianism, the production and exaggeration of threats, conspiracy-oriented propaganda adoption, and distrust of reality-based professions. We refer to this as the Fascist Authoritarian Model of Illiberal Democracy (FAMID) and argue that all components are essential for understanding contemporary antidemocratic movements. We demonstrate that all components of FAMID correlate with illiberal antidemocratic attitudes, that Republicans generally score higher than Democrats on the model components, and that all components significantly contribute to predicting illiberal antidemocratic attitudes. We find approximately equal support for both left-wing and right-wing illiberal antidemocratic attitudes. The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy helps explain the basic mechanisms by which an authoritarian leader works to erode liberal democratic norms—and does a better job at doing so than simpler authoritarianism theories.

Psychopolitical Explanation of a Presidential Impeachment in Peru. The Role of Populist Attitudes And Political Moral Laxity in President Castillo’s Removal

“…Consistent with what has been found in different reports Latinobarómetro, 2018;Schmitz & Espinosa, 2015), people's distrust of institutions is accompanied by a lack of interest in political and public affairs, which increases the scope for political operators to concentrate political power and corruption (Barrenechea & Vergara, 2023;Dunwoody et al, 2022;Ilizarbe, 2023). This gives way to an evaluation of the concept of illiberal democracy, which becomes a form of political clientelism of state capitalism Kramer, 2022).…”

Predictors of illiberalism in Romania: A case study during the Russian invasion in Ukraine

“…Misinformation is seen as a significant contributor to illiberal and extremist attitudes (Vosoughi et al, 2018). Political leaders with illiberal or populist tendencies rely, as a strategy, on flooding the information ecosystem with a wave of misinformation that ultimately makes it extremely difficult for regular audiences to discern fact from fake (Dunwoody et al, 2022). In the particular context studied in this paper, specific pro-Russian narratives present in social media (Geissler et al, 2023; Hanley et al, 2023) might a lead to more open manifestation of illiberal attitudes in the target population.…”

Antidemocratic tendencies on the left, the right, and beyond: A critical review of the theory and measurement of left-wing authoritarianism

“…Classical research has suggested that threats against social conformity "activate" the antidemocratic potential in authoritarians, yielding intolerance and prejudice against those who deviate from social conventions (Feldman, 2003;Feldman & Stenner, 1997;Stenner, 2005). Less is known about the effects of threats against progressive values, but some studies have suggested that perceived threat from political opponents is a major predictor of willingness to support violence against them and restrictions of their democratic rights among both liberals and conservatives (Crawford & Pilanski, 2014;Dunwoody et al, 2022). Nevertheless, recent studies suggest that there are differences at least in perceptions of threat, consistent with the proposed account (Brandt et al, 2021;Kahn et al, 2022): right-wing conservative ideology tends to be associated with concern about terrorism, war, and immigration (i.e., threats to the normative order), while left-wing ideology tends to be associated with concern about poverty, climate change, inequality, and racism (i.e., threats to progressive values).…”

“…Similarly, a belief that society is deeply corrupt or unjust that is rooted in perceived deprivation or grievance is often described as an early antecedent of political radicalism and violence (Armaly & Enders, 2022;Becker & Tausch, 2015;Moghaddam, 2005), and this belief is consistent with both left-and right-wing identity politics and populism (e.g., construing society as racist or the elite as corrupt). Furthermore, a receptivity to fake news, conspiracy theories, and other kinds of misinformation may make people more susceptible to antidemocratic ideas, particularly insofar as it leads to a "post-truth" reliance on subjective opinions, intuitions, and rhetoric instead of scientific facts, legitimate expertise, and rigorous journalism (Lewandowsky et al, 2017)-or a "truth delegitimization" (Dunwoody et al, 2022). In addition, perceptions concerning the epistemic and moral superiority or significance (e.g., chosenness) of the self or the ingroup might help to explain why people come to feel entitled to impose their beliefs on others through coercion or violence (Altemeyer, 1988;Webber et al, 2020).…”

“…For example, disliking political opponents, being submissive to authority, viewing the world cynically, and feeling superior to others is not antidemocratic in itself (although it might lead to increased susceptibility to antidemocratic ideas) but supporting violence against political opponents is. The types of antidemocratic attitudes and behaviors that are usually addressed (e.g., Bartusevičius et al, 2020;Dunwoody et al, 2022;Finkel et al, 1999;Lewandowsky & Jankowski, 2023) include supporting the abolishment or weakening of democratic institutions (e.g., parliamentary elections) or deprioritizing them relative to other political goals; supporting or engaging in political violence in defiance of the democratic system (e.g., riots, insurgencies, terrorism, or military coups); restricting criticism, opposition to the government, or ideology-incongruent information (e.g., persecuting journalists or censoring dissent); and discriminating groups by denying them their democratic rights (e.g., equal treatment under the law, freedom of expression, and rights to vote and run for office; see Figure 1). To rigorously test whether the hypothesized antidemocratic predispositions produce antidemocratic attitudes and behaviors under specified conditions-a theoretical question at the heart of scholarship on authoritarianism, extremism, and terrorism (e.g., Adorno et al, 1950;Moghaddam, 2005;Webber et al, 2020)-longitudinal studies are needed.…”