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Guided democracy, also calleddirected democracy[1] andmanaged democracy,[2][3] is a formallydemocraticgovernment that functions as ade factoauthoritarian government or, in some cases, as anautocratic government.[4] Suchhybrid regimes are legitimized by elections, but do not change thestate's policies, motives, and goals.[5]
In a guided democracy, the government controls elections such that the people can exercise democratic rights without truly changing public policy. While they follow basicdemocratic principles, there can be major deviations towardsauthoritarianism. Under managed democracy, the state's continuous use ofpropaganda techniques, such as throughmanufacturing consent, prevents the electorate from having a significant impact on policy.[5]
The concept is also related tosemi-democracy, also known asanocracy.
TheSanacja regime that governedinterwar Poland from 1926 to 1939[6] is considered an example of guided democracy, during both its first phase from 1926 to 1930,[7] as well as the final 1930–1939 phase.[8] The regime retained much of the structures and institutions of Polishparliamentary democracy, even thoughJózef Piłsudski exercised such large influence on the government that he "assumed some of the postures of a dictator".[6][7] The 1935April Constitution of Poland implemented by Sanacja centralized most state power in the hands of President, but the Polish guided democracy nevertheless stayed pluralistic, even if authoritarian.[8] The opposition sat in the parliament and local governments, and political parties were allowed to function legally.[6]
Polish historianAndrzej Chojnowski [pl] notes that elections under Piłsudski's regime were still organised along the principles of parliamentary democracy,[6] and the Sanacja regime was genuinely popular as the opposition parties were blamed for failing to prevent theGreat Depression.[9] Writing about late Sanacja,Antony Polonsky stated that even after 1930, "parties survived, thepress was fairly free, criticism was allowed", thus maintaining the system of guided democracy.[10] While the actions of the opposition were hampered, repressions were rare and only two parties were banned:Camp of Great Poland andNational Radical Camp.[6][11]
AfterWorld War II, the term "guided democracy" was used inIndonesia for the approach to government under theSukarno administration from 1959 to 1966.[12]
The term "managed democracy" has been used to describe the political system ofRussia under Vladimir Putin by former Putin advisorGleb Pavlovsky,[13] by media,[14][15] and by Russian intellectualMarat Gelman.[16]