The relationship between historical and contemporary authoritarianism, which entails power and control intricacies, never evolves and constantly continues. It can manipulate public sentiments when put to work. By examining the dynamic relationships existing under authoritarianism, especially in the case of the subjugation of a minority group and the generations of fearmongering messages, the relevant sources are pretty helpful to us in tracing links to parallels in the past and the transformation of the authoritarian techniques over time. Through the overview of these pieces, covering an example of a cultural symbol study in an autocratic system, another example of digital repression review, as well as a case of totalitarianism in Russia, we have a greater insight into the long-term problems our democratic country faces. This paper critically examines the primary sources drawn in the literature review about authoritarianism and its manifestations in the contemporary world as a multidimensional phenomenon emphasizing historical context and collective action in undermining oppressive government systems and promoting social justice.
The borrowing of authoritarianism or its contemporary versions is mainly featured in the context of the marginalized African Americans of the United States. Therefore, the provided sources provide an invaluable understanding of authoritarian strategies’ historical implications and evolution. Lauren Derby’s “The Dictator’s Seduction: “Politics and Symbolic Victory in the Time of Trujillo’s Regime” detects the penetration of political power in different spheres of social life, forcing the use of cultural symbols and daily routines for political purposes in a dictator’s favor. Derby’s attention is concentrated chiefly on Dr. Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic. It brings to light how dictators conduct propaganda to mislead the masses, showing connections to current-day political tactics that are also directed at African American communities.
Through Derby’s work, we get a broader picture of the legacy of authoritarianism and its effect on the social fabric, which emphasizes that cultural artifacts effectively support autocratic tradition. Within this context, through examining ceremonies and symbols of authority, Derby clearly demonstrates how authoritarian regimes display infer prevalent legitimacy and control. Still, it is another story in modern times when governments use similar methods to marginalize minority groups. This approach to the historical perspective is necessary for a fuller comprehension of power relations and how they inform and are informed by cultural practices. Also, the recurrence of oppression and resistance besets modern societies.
Building upon Derby’s insights, Steven Feldstein’s exploration of digital repression in “The Rise of Digital Repression: The essay “Technology, Power, and Antagonism: How Technology is Affecting Authoritarianism Today” shows the significant effects of technology on contemporary authoritarianism. Furthermore, Feldstein’s analysis brings to light how the tech’s advancement in surveillance tools and social media platforms allows the states to manipulate information flow and suppress soon enough, fulfilling the past goals of censorship and propaganda. By looking into the interconnection of technology and power, Feldstein highlights that the dynamics of authoritarian tactics keep changing, with particular consequences for democrats’ values and human rights.
Moreover, Masha Gessen’s examination of totalitarianism in Russia, particularly in “The Future Is History: “Huxley’s Raiders and the Stages of Collective Delusion: How There New Has Many Lessons for Our Modern-Day World of Totalitarianism Reclaiming Russia,” suggests some useful notions for a critical view of the new “hunters” into the process of transition of contemporary authoritarian regimes. Through Gessen’s colony, we see how Russia’s past was still traumatic and how its influence continues to impact present-day politics—illuminating the authoritarianism legacy and its subversive mechanisms of shaping political attitudes and behaviors among the people. In narrative approach and persistent research, Gessen reveals how authoritarian regimes operate, using their tactics to destroy freedom of opposition and tie it with the trend of authoritarianisation, which is more and more possible today.
Gessen’s articles challenge the readers to rethink how they navigate the present challenges to democracy and human rights by making them recall the past and fight against systems that keep them under the same type of bondage seen in the past. Gessen’s work contextualizes modern authoritarianism in the historical context, thus lending as a stimulus to deepening such predicaments and emphasizing the importance of collective authorship of democratic principles.
In juxtaposing these principal sources of information, the riddle of the actual authoritarianism of our time and its different faces is very much a story of the past and present power shifts. Through the exploration of similarities in the methods of suppression and exclusion from previous societies, scholars and experts can have the opportunity to grasp better the oncoming problems of a democratic way of life. Eventually, the lessons learned from these sources point to one initiative-momentous action that entails cautiousness and activism that can save democracy and promote social justice in a society in an authoritarian world.
Of late, useful politicologists are careful about the position of energy and the recourse to fear-based narratives during political activity and their final effect on the development and principles of governance. Ghaffar’s work (2022) investigates power and control in social life and human relationships from various environments (contexts). They are tapping into the foundational Humanities, Political Science, and Psychology writings—ghaffar endeavors to give a complete account of how power promotes itself as a technique of social control. Through critical examination of preexisting literature, the article breaks down the winding relationship between power and different ways of organizing society and how power influences human relationships in politics, interpersonal relationships, and everyday life.
For instance, in a recent study, Zuk and Zuk (2019) concentrate on the “border phobia” that arises in right-wing populism, mainly that of the Poland-Belarus border crisis. Bordervobia is the instrument that authoritarian politics use to join together elements of patriotism, the rule of authoritarian states, and neoliberalism. Through the theorem of the components of Border phobia across the public space, Żuk and Żuk point to a role to be played by bigoted movements primarily in the process of war as it is a symbol concerning mass fear, growth of nationalist support, and increase in security budget. Moreover, the authors show the symbolic meaning factors regarding border walls representing political order and national sovereignty, emphasizing the intersection between borderphobia and nationalist neoliberalism.
Though the two papers look at power issues in modern society from somewhat different angles, they help develop a more complex perception of what it usually takes for a relationship to work. The curatorial aspect of Ghaffar’s installation on power and social control helps reveal the universal mechanisms through which power works in different conditions and provides a theoretical structure for studying the complexities of the patterns of our societies. On the contrary, the use of fear and nationalism by right-wing populist regimes to achieve political goals is scrutinized further in Żuk and Żuk’s essay on border phobia. In this way, the authors demonstrate the unfortunate and ever-present dangers of engaging and accepting such attitudes in shaping the policies and public discourse around the country.
Transforming these key sources, it is easy to recognize that the puzzle of authoritarianism in its modern versions is strongly related to historical legacy and social flywheel. By studying how the old system of suppression and discrimination was replicated, we can read about the challenges of a democratic society. Eventually, analysis of such data drives the idea of caution and the necessity of political activism to strengthen democracy and social justice while facing the rise of new authoritarian regimes. Amid societies struggling with the complex time of power and control, drawing on historical experiences and different perspectives across multiple fields is crucial to prevent authoritarianism and safeguard democratic ideas and human rights values.
References
Żuk, P., & Żuk, P. (2024). Wall-building policy: nationalist space management and border phobia as right-wing populists’ tools for doing authoritarian politics. Frontiers in Political Science, 6, 1288787. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2024.1288787/full
Ghaffar, B. (2022). Deconstructing Power: Examining the Relationship Between Power and Social Control in Different Contexts. Policy Journal of Social Science Review, 1(2), 48-56. https://journalofsocialsciencereview.com/index.php/PJSSR/article/view/6/20
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