What Is A Soft Authoritarianism and Why Do We Need To Learn About It, Quickly?

In the past decade, many countries around the world have shifted from democracies to what’s known as soft authoritarian governments. “Soft authoritarianism” describes a relatively new phenomenon also known as “illiberal democracy”, “hybrid democracy”, or “competitive autocracy”.  Soft authoritarianism operates in a zone between democracy and autocracy. It can serve as a bridge or stepping stone between these two opposite types of government.