Authoritarian Regimes and Mechanisms of Control

Vocabulary terms covering concepts of authoritarian governance, state modernization, tools of regime control, and co-optation.

Federalism

An institutional structure created by devolving power when a country has geographically defined diverse groups.

Totalitarian Systems

Regimes that seek to control extensive aspects of citizens' lives, which are very costly in resources, time, and energy to maintain and often fade into authoritarian systems.

Unfinished Modernization

An incomplete economic transition that entrenches inequalities, which are strongly correlated with nondemocratic rule.

Betacracy

A condition, often found in oil-rich or diamond-rich countries, where leaders siphon off state funds for their own profit instead of building state capacity and infrastructure.

Coaptation

An insidious method of control where the state integrates into societal institutions to influence and control them rather than outright prohibiting assembly or speech.

Coercion

A primary tool used by non-democratic regimes to retain power, ranging from light-handed pressure to imprisonment, disappearance, and murder.

Surveillance

The tracking of a population's speech, actions, and associates to identify and suppress opposition.

Plantalism

A practice that allows the state to buy individual public support by granting jobs, housing, or access to scarce resources like gas and food.

Kleptocracy

Rule by theft, in which rulers take available resources for their own benefit rather than reinvesting them in the state.

Patrimonialism

A form of governance where political loyalty is secured through a shared identity or connection.