Authoritarianism As a Bureaucratic Phenomenon

Abstract

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has seen the adoption in many countries of emergency legislation. In the case of France, this led to the adoption of authoritative measures, including lockdowns and other decisions reducing civil liberties. These measures are a result of the strong distrust political authorities have in their own administration and population. Along with the creation of ad hoc organizations alongside traditional bureaucracies, these measures produce vicious circles, in which attempts to circumvent resistance or apathy are met with even stronger resistance, leading to the adoption of further measures to address this issue, and so on. As our societies will be exposed to other crisis situations in the future, this could lead to an increase in authoritarian styles of government, even in democratic countries.