Electoralism is a term first used by

Terry Karl Terry Lynn Karl (born November 21, 1947) is the Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Political Science specializing in comparative politics in the Political Science Department at Stanford University.

, professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at Stanford University, to describe a "half-way" transition from authoritarian rule toward democratic rule. As a topic in the

dominant party system A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system, is a political occurrence in which a single political party continuously dominates election results over running opposition groups or parties. Any ruling party staying in power for more th ...

political science literature, electoralism describes a situation where the transition out of hard-authoritarian rule is initiated and managed by the incumbent regime. However, due to the dominant position of the incumbent regime throughout the transition process, the transition fails to attain the institutional qualities of

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...

. Other terms, such as guided transition or managed transition have been used to describe this process. Under electoralism, the regime essentially conducts the electoral aspects of democratic governance in a relatively 'free and fair' manner. Massive acts of

voting fraud Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holder ...

and election-day intimidation are essentially absent. However, other features of democracy, such as the rule of law and institutional

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

, are absent under electoralism. The entire election process is skewed in favor of the incumbent regime. The media tends to ignore or paint the opposition in a negative light, the high court and election commission tends to make judgements in favor of the incumbent, and on some occasions, opposition rallies are denied or canceled by the police. Some examples include: *

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

after 1992 *

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

after 2002 *

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

after 1991 *

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

between the late 1980s and 2000. *

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

after 1991Rose, Richard & Munro, Neil: Elections Without Order Cambridge University Press, 2002 (p. 42)

References

Giliomee, Herman and Charles Simkins (eds). (1999). The Awkward Embrace: One-Party Domination and Democracy. Overseas Publisher Association. Elections {{polisci-stub