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Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of government. It is characterised by absolute or blind obedience to authority, as against individual freedom and related to the expectation of unquestioning obedience.
Juan Linz, whose 1964 description of authoritarianism is influential, characterised authoritarian regimes as political systems by four qualities:
(1) "limited, not responsible, political pluralism"; that is, constraints on political institutions and groups (such as legislatures, political parties and interest groups),
(2) a basis for legitimacy based on emotion, especially the identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat "easily recognizable societal problems" such as underdevelopment or insurgency;
(3) neither "intensive nor extensive political mobilization" and constraints on the mass public (such as repressive tactics against opponents and a prohibition of antiregime activity) and
(4) "formally ill-defined" executive power, often shifting or vague.
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