Legacies of authoritarianism

Abstract This chapter considers how legacies of authoritarianism may persist after a transition to democracy. After discussing the unhealed wound of human rights abuses in countries like Argentina, it turns its attention to two lesser-known but extremely widespread legacies: “holdover constitutions” imposed by outgoing authoritarian officials, and “authoritarian successor parties” created by those officials. The frequent success of the latter is especially disturbing, since these parties can only succeed under democracy if voters voluntarily choose to support them. The chapter shows how authoritarian successor parties often inherit resources from the old regime that help them to thrive in democratic elections. It concludes by asking how democratic leaders should respond to authoritarian legacies, arguing that there may be pragmatic reasons to proceed with caution.