Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
So why would any citizen support a dictatorship? The reasons are varied, but all come down to incentives. For example, the incentives might be financial, because people feel they are better off with an authoritarian regime that is able to force though needed economic reform. Or there might be security incentives, where people feel that an authoritarian regime is best suited to guaranteeing peace and stability in a country that has experienced (or might experience) civil unrest. A citizen’s support for a regime (consent) can be both explicit and implicit. Explicit consent means that citizens actively support the regime through social and political participation. Implicit consent suggests a more passive role, in which citizens ‘put-up’ with the regime or lack the will to actively oppose the regime. If the regime is to be long-lasting consent in either form or both, is essential.
So why would any citizen support a dictatorship? The reasons are varied, but all come down to incentives. For example, the incentives might be financial, because people feel they are better off with an authoritarian regime that is able to force though needed economic reform. Or there might be security incentives, where people feel that an authoritarian regime is best suited to guaranteeing peace and stability in a country that has experienced (or might experience) civil unrest. A citizen’s support for a regime (consent) can be both explicit and implicit. Explicit consent means that citizens actively support the regime through social and political participation. Implicit consent suggests a more passive role, in which citizens ‘put-up’ with the regime or lack the will to actively oppose the regime. If the regime is to be long-lasting consent in either form or both, is essential.
