Exploring the Topography of the Authoritarian: Populism, Illiberalism, and Authoritarianism

“Democratic regression,” the “retreat of western liberalism,” the “return” or “renaissance” of authoritarianism or the “third wave of autocratization” −  these are some the many labels for diverse phenomena − or problems of authority − that plague societies in the Global North and South. Commonly, such problems of authority are specified as pathological practices of corruption or institutional defects, deviant forms of governance or pathological symptoms of representation and participation. Their semantic specification and interpretive framework are delivered by three camps − with contested, porous borders and considerable intersections and agreements − under the signifier illiberalism, populism or authoritarianism. All of them claim, each camp speaking from its peculiar vantage point, the authority to interpret the phenomena mentioned above. In this article the “properties” − advantages and failures − of the three frameworks are discussed and brought into a conversation with one another.