"being a party-state, not a personalist autocracy," "being sufficiently unconstrained by laissez-faire ideology that it can reward its supporters directly," "willingness to use the public sector as a tool rather than destroying it," "having a plausible succession mechanism if Orban died."
Is a “party-state” one where the administrative functions of a state can often be run through a strict partisan organization (with all its attendant bureaucracy and manpower)
Yeah like in china where there’s an elaborate institutionalized party whose administrative structures are fused with the state America doesn’t even really have parties in that sense anymore and Trump certainly isn’t leading one
Putin is like Trump I think in that while he has a party, it’s not that kind of party, it’s an electoral label and loose container for his cronies
"not having an attachment to performances of autocracy; giving the appearance of being constrained by law," "lacking incubators for antigovernment sentiment outside of the direct control of the central government"
nypost.com/2025/08/31/u...
... and yet, they *still* might lose next time!
nypost.com/2025/08/31/u...
People think authoritarianism is just a "win forever" button that liberals refuse to press out of sportsmanship or something. It's complicated, and it carries difficult trade offs, and it generally serves right wing ends !!
You just lock up everyone who opposes you and then it's 3,000 years of uninterrupted rule as a dynasty of god-pharaohs, right?