Technically speaking, an illiberal democracy could be any democracy that is not a liberal democracy. However, the term is almost always used to denote a particularly authoritarian kind of representative democracy, in which the leaders and lawmakers are elected by the people, but tend to be corrupt and often do not respect the law. This has the effect of cutting off the people from real power. It is this type of "illiberal democracy" that is discussed in the present article. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representants. ...

Illiberal democracies are found primarily outside of the West, in newly democratizing countries that do not have a history of pluralism. Without such a tradition of different ideas co-existing peacefully, the ruling party or leader—after winning multi-party elections that are mostly free and fair—behaves in a manner that violates the constitutional rights and liberties of the general population. The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Democratization is the transition from authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems to democratic political systems, where democratic systems are taken to be those approximating to universal suffrage, regular elections, a civil society, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

There is a spectrum of illiberal democracies: from those who are nearly liberal democracies to those that are almost dictatorships. Examples can be found across Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The mid-to-late 1990s was a period marked by a growing emergence of illiberal democracies. It has been suggested that Dictator be merged into this article or section. ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote: the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

An illiberal democracy is marked by the tension between how a government is selected and how that government behaves. Illiberal democratic governments believe they have a mandate to act in any way they see fit, disregarding laws or the constitution if they desire, as long as they hold regular elections. They often centralize powers both between branches of the national government (violating the separation of powers) and between different levels of government and private associations. The former is more noticeable, the latter more common. The separation of powers(or trias politica, a term coined by French political thinker Montesquieu) is a model for the governance of the state. ...

The term "illiberal democracy" tends to be used with a negative connotation, by those who oppose such a system of government and support liberal democracy.

See also

• Liberal democracy
• Representative democracy
• Political corruption

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representants. ... World map of the Corruption Perceptions Index In broad terms, political corruption is the misuse of public (governmental) power for illegitimate, usually secret, private advantage. ...

References

• The Rise of Illiberal Democracy, Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, November/ December 1997
• Liberalism and Democracy: Can't have one without the other, Marc Plattner, Foreign Affairs, March/ April 1998