Drivers of Authoritarianism

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Drivers of Authoritarianism

Paths and Developments at the Beginning of the 21st Century

9781035324699 Edward Elgar Publishing
Edited by Günter Frankenberg, Emeritus Professor of Public Law, Philosophy of Law and Comparative Law, Institute for Public Law, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Bielefeld, Germany
Publication Date: 2024 ISBN: 978 1 03532 469 9 Extent: 436 pp
Drivers of Authoritarianism provides a prescient deep-dive into modern threats to pluralism and democracy in times of crisis. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this incisive book analyses the social, political, economic and psychological consequences of crises during the first decades of the 21st century, powered by the proliferation of authoritarian regimes and their ideologies as well as authoritarian attitudes.

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Critical Acclaim
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Drivers of Authoritarianism provides a prescient deep-dive into modern threats to pluralism and democracy in times of crisis. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this incisive book analyses the social, political, economic and psychological consequences of crises during the first decades of the 21st century, powered by the proliferation of authoritarian regimes and their ideologies.

Günter Frankenberg and Wilhelm Heitmeyer bring together esteemed academics from a diverse range of disciplines to consider the ways in which crises have acted as catalysts for authoritarian developments. The book assesses the effects of authoritarianism at individual, social, national and global levels, raising concerns for the future of political and social stability. Chapters explore exterminism, authoritarian cultural identities, left-wing identity politics as a driver of authoritarianism, media entertainment and authoritarianism, and the role of gender in right-wing authoritarian populism.

This timely book will be a vital read for academics, researchers and students specialising in constitutional and administrative law, law and politics, and public policy. Providing expert insight into the political landscape of the early 21st century this book will also be of great interest to political professionals and policymakers working at local, national and international levels.
Critical Acclaim
‘In a world that drifts towards authoritarianism, and sometimes even welcomes it, Drivers of Authoritarianism offers an indispensable tool to face this complex and frightening potential (or reality?). The multi-headed hydra of authoritarianism is captured successfully by the multidisciplinary approach of this original book.’
– András Sajó, Central European University PU, Vienna

‘Working in the tradition of critical theory, these essays blend structural and economic accounts of modern authoritarianism’s rise with ideology critique of several key texts and, perhaps most interestingly, psycho-social accounts of what makes authoritarianism attractive to some citizens today. Taken as a whole the collection provides subtle insights into today’s authoritarian politics.’
– Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School, US

‘An impressive volume. It offers a stringent time-diagnostic analysis for understanding the current conjuncture of authoritarian-autocratic developments, which are fuelled by economic, social and political crises.’
– Rudolf Walther, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
Contributors
Contributors include: Brigitte Bargetz, Kai Biermann, Oliver Decker, Paula Diehl, Klaus Dörre, Nina Elena Eggers, Günter Frankenberg, Klaus Günther, Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Maximilian Pichl, Lars Rensmann, Dieter Rucht, Birgit Sauer, Bernd Stegemann, Natascha Strobl, Volker Weiß, Michael Zürn
Contents
Contents:

Preface xii

PART I ON THE THEORY AND EMPIRICISM OF
AUTHORITARIANISM
1 Authoritarian developments as a threat to democracy and
pluralism 2
Günter Frankenberg and Wilhelm Heitmeyer

PART II THREATS TO DEMOCRACIES AND
AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM COMPETITION
2 Authoritarian forms of rule in the twenty-first century 60
Michael Zürn
3 Autocratisation as a global process? Authoritarianism and
democracy in an international context 84
Lars Rensmann
4 Self-assertion without self-determination: The new ideological appeal of old authoritarian concepts 121
Klaus Günther
5 The authoritarian direction of radicalised conservatism 151
Natascha Strobl

PART III CAPITALIST ECONOMIES AND SOCIAL CRISES
6 Loss of control, authoritarianism and exterminism in the
Great Transformation 166
Klaus Dörre
7 Crises and loss of control – opportunity structures for the
drivers of authoritarian social developments 196
Wilhelm Heitmeyer
8 Of ‘bulwarks’ and ‘sacred borders’. Authoritarian refugee
policies in Europe 220
Maximilian Pichl

PART IV AUTHORITARIAN MENTALITIES AND
IDENTITY POLITICS
9 Dynamics of authoritarianism: an essay 239
Oliver Decker
10 Authoritarian cultural identities: understanding the new
right in the tradition of Oswald Spengler 251
Volker Weiß
11 Left-wing identity politics as a driver of authoritarian
developments 272
Bernd Stegemann

PART V NEW ROLE ASSIGNMENTS, AFFECTIVE
NARRATIVES, AND MEDIA CONCEPTS OF POLITICS
12 Women, gender and right-wing authoritarian populism 288
Birgit Sauer
13 Promises of sovereignty in authoritarian populism: a feminist critique 308
Brigitte Bargetz and Nina Elena Eggers
14 Media entertainment and right-wing authoritarian political
ideas, an example: the storming of the Capitol 329
Paula Diehl

PART VI REPRESSIVE INSTRUMENTS AND
AUTHORITARIAN MOVEMENTS AND THE STATE
15 Leviathan with a beaked mask 349
Günter Frankenberg
16 Pegasus: the unbounded surveillance industry in the
service of the authoritarian 372
Kai Biermann
17 Under what conditions do authoritarian social movements
develop in western societies? 391
Dieter Rucht
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