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Terms
Authoritarianism is a form of government in which power is heavily concentrated, political dissent and opposition parties are banned or actively repressed, and citizens have limited civil rights. An authoritarian state may be ruled by a single leader (dictator), a party, the military, or small networks of corrupt officials (in an oligarchy). Because authoritarian governments are not accountable to institutions or citizens, they often (but not always) rule through tyranny, putting the self-interest of leaders above the interests of the nation. In some cases, they give way to totalitarianism, an extreme and often violent kind of absolute control by the state. In this book, many of Snyder’s examples of tyranny are authoritarian regimes, like communist Czechoslovakia and present-day Russia. While authoritarianism and democracy are generally opposed, they are not mutually exclusive, and Snyder points out that democracies frequently turn into authoritarian governments—which, he argues, the United States risks doing by electing Donald Trump.
Authoritarianism Quotes in On Tyranny
The On Tyranny quotes below are all either spoken by Authoritarianism or refer to Authoritarianism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
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Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
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Chapter 14
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What the great political thinker Hannah Arendt meant by totalitarianism was not an all-powerful state, but the erasure of the difference between private and public life.
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Chapter 18
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Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it.
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Authoritarianism Term Timeline in On Tyranny
The timeline below shows where the term Authoritarianism appears in On Tyranny. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Do not obey in advance.
Throughout history, people have obeyed authoritarians automatically, like when German citizens eagerly supported Adolf Hitler’s newly elected government. Similarly, when Hitler...
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Chapter 2: Defend institutions.
...balances would prevent the Nazis from implementing the anti-Jewish policies they planned. In fact, when authoritarian rulers openly declare that they want to undermine a nation’s political institutions, it should be...
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Chapter 11: Investigate.
...People are only free and independent because they can tell the truth from falsehoods. Accordingly, authoritarians like Trump try to limit this ability by promoting propaganda, suppressing honest journalists, and accusing...
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Chapter 15: Contribute to good causes.
...and they help people trust and learn from others. Like 20th-century communists and fascists, contemporary authoritarian governments oppose such organizations because they are a way for people to preserve their freedom.
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Chapter 18: Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Authoritarians love emergencies that provide them with an opportunity to seize power and destroy democratic institutions....
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