The Shadows of 'Illiberal Democracy'

In recent years, somewhat surprisingly, the concept of "illiberal democracy" has enjoyed a spectacular renaissance. While this concept was originally defined negatively, considering it as valid description for countries lacking strong constitutional-liberal tradition, recently some autocratic leaders have proclaimed proudly that illiberal democracy was a positive notion. In the meantime, some scholars analyzed different forms of democracy including the illiberal one. I argue that considering illiberal democracy as type of democracy is a conceptual mistake, because illiberal democracy in fact belongs to the hybrid regimes. Illiberal democracy might make sense in the grey zone between democracies and dictatorships an alternative setting to democracy. Careful empirical analysis of mixed regimes, like Hungary, helps scholars to avoid inflating the notion of democracy.