Authoritarianism and populism are returning to the world, raising questions about how economically successful such regimes can be. As practice shows, economic growth is less stable under authoritarian regimes than in democratic countries. Economic growth gradually leads to forming an urban class and protests against authoritarian rule. Authoritarianism as a political regime constrains economic growth and abolishes political participation and human rights in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Before directly analyzing the influence of authoritarian political systems on several economic, political and social aspects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, one must turn to the definition of authoritarianism and its forms. As many people know, an authoritarian regime can be defined as the concentration of unlimited political power in the hands of one person or a small ruling group (Shively and Schultz 2022). Authoritarian political regimes are incredibly diverse; they include traditional forms — monarchies, despotisms, tyrannies, and relatively new forms — reactionary, conservative, and liberal authoritarian regimes (Burnell et al. 2017). One should recall that the reactionary authoritarian regime is characterized by unlimited presidential power and acts as a brake on social progress.
Such a regime significantly limited the powers of representative institutions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, ignored the principle of separation of powers, infringed on civil and political rights, illegally appropriated and seized power. This ideology tried to unify and control even the thinking and tastes of citizens (Mohanty 2021). The principle of authoritarianism in these regions is one-sided centralized power principles (Karim and Attard 2019). Unconditional subordination, basically compulsory, to the authoritative decisions of the central bodies, is rigid, disciplined, and unconditional responsibility of the subordinates.
Thus, authoritarianism should be perceived as the absence of political opposition and freedom, an extensive political apparatus, and a strong army used to solve domestic problems. It is no secret that this regime hindered economic development and prosperity, participation in political life, and human rights. Moreover, such basic freedoms of people could not be guaranteed in such political conditions.
References
Burnell, Peter, Randall, Vicky and Rakner, Lise. 2017. Politics in the Developing World. 5th ed. Oxford University Press.
Karim, M. Saiful and Attard, David Joseph. 2019. Shipbreaking in Developing Countries: A Requiem for Environmental Justice from the Perspective of Bangladesh (IMLI Studies in International Maritime Law). Routledge.
Mohanty, Prasanna K. 2021. Land Economics and Policy in Developing Countries. SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Shively, Phillips W. and Schultz, David. 2022. Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.