The Perverse Lure of Autocratic Postdemocracy

The lure of autocratic regimes is undeniable as political parties that embody such regime changes attract a large and growing crowd of voters. This essay attempts to account for the lure of autocratic governance as it gradually spreads. It proceeds in three parts. The first part considers how neoliberal governance arrangements pioneered post-truth autocratic politics/policies in articulation with the imposition of market rule and, in doing so, cleared the way for the present-day nativist populisms. The second part considers the institutional configuration through which the democratic has been fundamentally transformed over the past few decades in the direction of what observers call a postdemocratic constellation. The final part grapples with the enduring lure of autocratic populism and how it deepens the very deadlock of the current situation.