Information control and electoral advantage in Albania

Democracy has stagnated worldwide, and incumbents in competitive authoritarian systems are using state authority to perpetuate their hold on power. We examine post-communist competitive authoritarian regimes in Eastern Europe, using Albania as a key example, of how contemporary competitive authoritarian regimes combine informally obtained information and public resources to extend their tenure. On the eve of the 2021 national Albanian election, an extensive list of so-called ‘Patronazhists’ leaked from the incumbent Socialist Party offices. The document showed a highly structured system of information gathering, accompanied by state resource allocation for votes, and a highly partisan public administration.