The phrase “illiberal democracy” was first seen and applied to politics in 1997, when American journalist Fareed Zakaria continuously cited the idea in Foreign Affairs. while Zakaria was the first to apply the term, philosopher Daniel A. Bell created the theory during his examination of forms of democracy.
An illiberal democracy is generally characterized by a country that has unfair, unfree, and uncompetitive elections, levels of corruption, and suppression of the opposition. Russia checks off each of these boxes, and even takes them to another level. Here’s why:
First, it is a known fact around the internet that Russia has a history of rigging elections. Why do they do it? To keep someone in power. Since 2000, this candidate has been Vladimir Putin. From 2000-2008 and from 2012- present day, Putin has been the president of Russia. He is one of the longest-serving leaders of Russia, which is not due to a fair election. The first way that fairness is taken out of elections is through workers at the voting site stuffing votes in the ballot box with their preferred candidate chosen on the ballot – which, for many years, has been Putin. Furthermore, another unfair advantage was a 2020 law change which allowed for Putin to serve 2 more terms (6 years) as president, which could keep him in power in Russia until 2036. While this was actually a constitutional change that applies to future presidents as well, it was done for the benefit of Putin alone, not for the best interest of the Russian people.
Second, one of the most prominent reasons that Russia has high levels of corruption throughout their government is due to the fact hat they have a non-transparent government. This means that the press does not have the ability to report on the government, resulting in citizens in Russia being unaware of what their government is doing – meaning they are able, and they do, make choices for the benefit of themselves and their power, rather than what’s best for the population. Even worse, journalists who do attempt to report on the government are severely punished all around Russia. For instance, “Two outstanding U.S. citizen journalists. . . are being detained by Russian officials for producing journalism of integrity. At least 20 other journalists sit in Russia's prisons, accused of crimes that amount to nothing more than reporting on facts the Kremlin finds objectionable” (ru.usembassy.com).
Third, another source of corruption that is produced within the Russian government is through Putin’s administration. In Russia, power is used to coerce, incentivize, and persuade officials to regulate high levels of control and corruption within the government. For example, over half of Putin’s administration are KGB members (he also is a former KGB officer), which is essentially the CIA of Russia. This gives the government even more power as the KGB is in charge of protecting political leadership, they supervise the border, and they are in charge of watching over the population.
So, with these things in mind, why is Russia an illiberal democracy? It’s not. While at some point it was, over time, the limitation of media, free speech, and voter rights prove that the Russian government is not truly an illiberal democracy. It’s an authoritarian regime. Even though they are not truly recognized as one, Russia fits each characteristic which makes an authoritarian regime – total government control, unfair elections, rule by law, and restrictive civil rights and liberties. So, if little research presents the truth about Russia’s authoritarian regime, why are we not classifying it as one?
Sources
“Illiberal democracy.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiberal_democracy. Accessed 20 August 2024.
guide, step, and Vladimir Putin's. “2020 Russian constitutional referendum.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Russian_constitutional_referendum. Accessed 23 August 2024.
“World Press Freedom Day - May 3, 2024 - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Russia.” U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Russia, 3 May 2024, https://ru.usembassy.gov/world-press-freedom-day-may-3-2024/. Accessed 23 August 2024.
Breeley Moll
Rogers
11th Grade
Instagram- @breeley0212
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