Appropriation of Civil Society: A Tool for Aspiring Autocrats

Abstract

Civil society (CSOs) is usually understood as a necessary variable to promote democracy and challenge authoritarian regimes. In this essay, however, I will argue that in weakly institutionalized democracies, appropriation of civil society is a tool used by aspiring authoritarian leaders to obtain and maintain political power. In contrast to traditional literature, I found that the mere existence of a strong civil society does not promote democratic values. Instead, without autonomy from political parties and the state, it will support an authoritarian agenda. I defined and contextualized the concept of civil society both as a general construct in politics and its meaning in Latin America. Then, I defined appropriation as a tool used by authoritarian leaders to remove CSOs autonomy and political influence. I use Venezuela as my case study, and found evidence for my thesis.