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January 12, 2004

Characteristics of a new authoritarianism

The Human Rights Council of Australia has published a thought-provoking paper, AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACY: Challenging the Rise of Contemporary Authoritarianism. The eloquent and well researched piece describes "the Government's methodology for driving the political changes arousing our concern."

The following "key characteristics" lifted from the paper ring disturbingly true about the UK government as well, especially in relation to its relationship with the non-government sector. Trust me, I'm a contractor.


  1. Creating a political climate dominated by fear, insecurity and division.
  2. De-legitimating dissent (including, for example, through the demonisation of those putting alternative positions)
  3. Limiting the capacity of “other voices” (including, for example, by restricting functional capacity [resources] and their public standing)
  4. Controlling access to and the use of information.
  5. Co-opting or even coercing potential dissenters (including, for example, through exploiting increasing financial dependence and the use of contractual provisions).


Posted by .M. at January 12, 2004 06:24 AM

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