THE REACTIONARY SPIRIT

A politically savvy exposé of the recent rise of “a global antidemocratic movement that claims to be acting in democracy’s defense.”

Beauchamp, a senior correspondent for Vox who focuses on right-wing populism, argues that the emergence of competitive authoritarianism, whose proponents hold (rigged) elections and undermine such democratic institutions as a free press and politically independent courts, is a consequence of a perceived need to defend social hierarchies from advances in social equality. This reactionary spirit pits democracy’s equal citizenship against a form of liberalism that embraces individual freedom and xenophobic nationalism. “Democracy, by its nature,” writes the author, “encourages the upending of social hierarchies,” and it’s “always possible for citizens to elect leaders whose policies would challenge the existing social order.” The rise of competitive authoritarianism was precipitated by postwar decolonization, the formation of welfare states, mass migration, and efforts to reduce discrimination against marginalized groups—e.g., Black citizens in the U.S. and the lower castes in India. Beauchamp uses four cases as illustration: the U.S., Hungary, Israel, and India, epitomized, respectively, by Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Narendra Modi. Although Beauchamp suggests American origins for competitive authoritarianism, his evidence is more congruent with it being a global phenomenon similar to the spread of democracy after World War II. As the author writes, it’s possible that “the consensus around the basic principles of liberal democracy in countries like the United States might not be nearly as widely shared” as many think. To counter the reactionary spirit, Beauchamp argues for democratic activism and evidence-based governance, and he thoughtfully presents the history of competitive authoritarianism and defines its major dimensions. As a broad assessment, the author’s approach is more than sufficient in detail and attentiveness to political theory and academic scholarship.

A conscientious peeling away of the false democratic facade of contemporary authoritarianism.