Understanding what authoritarianism is | University of Amsterdam | Political Science Department

Is democracy dying? Many people are worried about authoritarianism, about the pressure on free media, free speech and independent judiciaries. Political scientists from the University of Amsterdam help us understanding what authoritarianism is, and how it might relate to other tendencies such as populism or xenophobia. To understand authoritarianism, we need to look at more than elections and must get away from seeing states as separate units that are either democratic or authoritarian. Instead, we should study authoritarian practices.