We are in the midst of authoritarianism’s third wave. The first and second — roughly 1926-1942 and 1961-1977 — featured sudden and emphatic transitions away from democracy that were the results of foreign invasion, military coups or “autogolpe,” where a chief executive comes to rule by legal means and then abolishes democratic institutions like parliaments. By contrast, a subtler and slower process of democratic erosion is the hallmark of authoritarianism’s third wave.

New nice photos

This is a very well developed piece, but I’m having trouble getting use out of and navigating these distinctions between “waves.” I would like to see writers across the board really work harder to break down these linear/non-relational ways of seeing. An example: “Many modern authoritarian regimes are quite open with respect to global interchange: They excel at plugging into it in selective ways to access the advantages of global connectivity while still protecting their core domestic prerogatives.” I see this not as a characteristic of Modern Authoritarianism, but as an effect of “global interchange” on authoritarian action as a total thing.