The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy
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 profe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Political Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.907681/full |
| _version_ | 1798037940640677888 |
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| author | Philip T. Dunwoody Joseph Gershtenson Dennis L. Plane Territa Upchurch-Poole |
| author_facet | Philip T. Dunwoody Joseph Gershtenson Dennis L. Plane Territa Upchurch-Poole |
| author_sort | Philip T. Dunwoody |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cefe88cbcf3042debd43af514a258125 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3145 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:33:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Political Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-cefe88cbcf3042debd43af514a2581252022-12-22T04:01:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Political Science2673-31452022-08-01410.3389/fpos.2022.907681907681The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracyPhilip T. Dunwoody0Joseph Gershtenson1Dennis L. Plane2Territa Upchurch-Poole3Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA, United StatesUniversity of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA, United StatesJuniata College, Huntingdon, PA, United StatesJuniata College, Huntingdon, PA, United StatesBased 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.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.907681/fullauthoritarianismfascismthreatpropagandaconspiracydemocracy |
| spellingShingle | Philip T. Dunwoody Joseph Gershtenson Dennis L. Plane Territa Upchurch-Poole The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy Frontiers in Political Science authoritarianism fascism threat propaganda conspiracy democracy |
| title | The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| title_full | The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| title_fullStr | The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| title_short | The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| title_sort | fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy |
| topic | authoritarianism fascism threat propaganda conspiracy democracy |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.907681/full |
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