What is an authoritarian regime? Thanks for asking!

An authoritarian regime is a form of government which monopolises authority and restricts political freedoms. Such regimes have strong central power and little accountability to their population. Authoritarianism is effectively the opposite of democracy. The term has come back into the news of late, with the reelection of Alexander Lukashenko as President of Belarus. He will now serve a sixth consecutive term, having remained head of state since 1994. His regime is considered authoritarian. Indeed, international media often refer to Lukashenko as “Europe’s last dictator”.

So what are the characteristics of an authoritarian regime?

One that immediately springs to mind is repression. Authoritarian regimes often resort to illegitimate tactics to enforce their power, such as the use of force. Another is how political opponents are, let’s say, ‘controlled’. That’s a euphemism because they are often imprisoned or disappear completely. Political pluralism is restricted and any anti-regime activities are swiftly suppressed. There are no trade unions and no NGOs. And the list goes on and on. Under an authoritarian regime, violating the freedom of the press and locking up journalists are common practice. This happens frequently in countries like China, Iran and Egypt. National television channels are run by the state, with no place for independent media, who often end up in exile from their home country. To enforce censorship, some authoritarian regimes have cut internet access.This was done for a five-day period in Gabon in 2016, after the announcement of President Ali Bongo’s reelection. Meanwhile, other regimes in Kazakhstan, Iraq and Iran have forced citizens to use an internet certificate in order to monitor their browsing activity.

Are there many authoritarian regimes in the world today? And why don’t other countries take sanctions against them?

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