Why Authoritarians Thrive

US President Donald Trump's ferocious assault on American institutions over the last nine months is a particularly morbid symptom of the global decline of democracy.

- 

But Trump has merely capitalized on a process that was well underway before his return to the White House.

Several factors have contributed to this worldwide retreat. Authoritarian regimes consolidated power by sharpening their methods of control, from electoral engineering and digital surveillance to legal and institutional manipulation. Moreover, autocrats often provide each other with political and economic support, as demonstrated by the close ties between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the shortcomings of several high-profile democracies - not least the United States ~ have arguably made the model less attractive.

But what is often overlooked is how profound changes to the international order have reinforced authoritarian regimes. In today’s increasingly multipolar world, the rise of regional geopolitical conflicts has been a boon for competitive authoritarian systems, which hold elections but tilt the political playing field in their favor.

A prime example is Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, which helped boost the domestic legitimacy of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo an in the run-up to pivotal elections.