Captive legislatures—legislatures controlled by an autocratic party—can approve executive appointments to oversight bodies, pass laws changing the electoral system, and even pass constitutional amendments granting an autocrat more political power. 

The Role of Captive Legislatures in Enabling Democratic Backsliding

Controlling the legislature is necessary for autocrats to pass laws to their benefit. The most straightforward way to control the legislature is through winning an outright majority in legislative elections, though autocratic parties can form coalitions with other parties as well.

Wesleyan University

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

Haggard, S. & Kaufman, R. R. (2021). Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Haggard & Kaufman (2021)

Controlling the Legislature

By controlling the legislature, autocrats can control who is appointed to courts and ensure that the judiciary is stacked with partisan loyalists. Courts can then rule in favor of autocrats, approving their attacks on civil liberties and expansions of power. 

Compromising the Independence of the Judiciary

With the backing of a complicit legislature, autocrats can control who is appointed to executive agencies that engage in government oversight, such as agencies targeting government corruption. Without these agencies acting as independent political bodies, corruption can flourish uninhibited. 

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