In their attempt to consolidate legislative power, autocrats can change electoral laws so that they are conducive to building majorities. For example, in electoral systems that favor proportional representation (PR), captive legislatures can pass laws favoring larger parties. They can institute thresholds to limit which parties gain representation in the legislature, thus restricting the number of smaller parties and making it easier for the ruling party to maintain or gain a majority. They can also change an electoral system from being PR to being majoritarian, with single-member winner-take-all districts like in the United States. Autocrats can also gerrymander districts to their advantage.

Manipulating Electoral Laws to the Government’s Advantage

Autocrats can stack election regulatory agencies with party loyalists to ensure control over election oversight. This can make it more difficult to tell if elections in a country are actually being conducted fairly.

Controlling Oversight of Elections

In the event that a would-be autocrat loses an election, they can also sow doubt in election security as a last-ditch effort to keep power and deteriorate democracy further. A key example of this is former President Trump alleging that his opponent, current President Biden, did not win the 2020 election fairly. 85% of Trump voters now believe that Biden did not win fairly in 2020. Furthermore, Trump’s lies directly led to the attempted takeover of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Sowing Doubt in Election Security

Autocrats manipulate voting laws and the way that elections are run so that they can more easily beat their opponents and continue to rule.

Wesleyan University

Autocrats primarily degrade democracy across three categories: by compromising the rule of law, attacking civil liberties, and violating the freeness and fairness of their countries’ elections. Autocrats can also violate democratic norms to change the culture of a country from a more democratic political culture to a more autocratic one. 

How Autocrats Degrade Democracy in Power

Autocrats seek to reduce checks on their power to consolidate power for themselves. To do so, they control the legislature, judiciary, and other institutions that typically check executive power. 

Attacking the Rule of Law and Reducing Checks on Executive Power

Autocrats attack civil liberties to limit the ability of citizens to challenge their rule. They might attack press freedoms or consolidate media power, diminish voting rights, or attack civil society organizations (CSOs). Autocrats can also utilize emergencies as excuses for violating human rights and consolidating their power.

Attacking Civil Liberties

Attacking Free and Fair Elections

Autocrats can take a variety of routes to destabilize a country’s democracy and consolidate power. Tactics can be more overt—such as by amending or even replacing a country’s constitution to their benefit—or they can be more subtle—such as by shifting a country’s political culture in their favor.

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