The authoritarian social contract and the erosion of democratic legitimacy / Jean-François Caron.
| Author/creator | Caron, Jean-François, 1980- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2026. |
| Copyright Date | ©2026 |
| Description | 104 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction -- Making Sense of the Authoritarian Social Contract -- Putin's Social Contract: Foundations and challenges -- The Highs and Lows of the Democratic Social Contract -- Conclusion. |
| Abstract | "This provocative and timely book challenges conventional wisdom about political legitimacy. While democratic social contracts are traditionally viewed as the only legitimate form of governance, it reveals how authoritarian states maintain stability and popular support without relying solely on repression. The author dissects the "authoritarian social contract"--a tacit agreement between rulers and citizens based not on political participation but on the delivery of three critical benefits: social mobility and prosperity, safety and security, and a sphere of negative freedom outside the political realm, to show that when these benefits are successfully provided, authoritarian regimes can achieve remarkable stability and genuine popular support. He also demonstrates how democracies worldwide are experiencing legitimacy crises precisely because they are failing to deliver these same fundamental benefits. As democratic nations witness declining social mobility, security challenges, and paradoxically, increasing state interference in personal freedoms, they face the same expressions of grievance and anti-regime activism historically seen in failing authoritarian states and risk the same fate that befell such regimes in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This book is essential reading for political scientists, policymakers, and anyone concerned with the future of democratic governance." -- Provided by publisher. |
| General note | "Routledge Focus" -- from cover. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version http://id.loc.gov/entities/relationships/onlineversion Caron, Jean-François, 1980- Authoritarian social contract and the erosion of democratic legitimacy First edition New York, NY : Routledge, 2026 9781003711421 |
| Issued in other form | ebook version : 9781040767177 |
| LCCN | 2026006963 |
| ISBN | 9781041170556 |
| ISBN | 1041170556 hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781041193746 paperback |
| ISBN | 1041193742 paperback |
| ISBN | electronic book |
| ISBN | electronic publication |
| ISBN | electronic book |
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