The Future of Contemporary Societies: Illiberal Democracies Or Liberal Autocracies?

Abstract

This article discusses the concept of illiberal democracy primarily through work of Fareed Zakaria but also the tension between liberalism and democracy, two key components of modern democratic political systems through the works of contemporary political science authors. The author provides an overview how the concept of illiberal democracy was accepted among other theorists and democracy researchers. The paper argues that the relationship between democracy and liberalism was controversial from the beginning of linking those two segments. Contemporary political science literature, and the current political developments in democratic societies, suggests that neither political scientists nor politicians have yet devised a model that would eliminate the tension that arises from the existence of two different segments. Liberal democracies are political regimes in which compromise between liberal individualism and democratic collectivism is continually requested.