Character Assassination in Authoritarian Regimes
Eric B. Shiraev, Jennifer Keohane, Martijn Icks, Sergei A. Samoilenko · 2021
A political system in which individual freedom is subordinate to the power or authority of the state is called authoritarianism. Political leaders in authoritarian governments typically rely on a relatively small inner circle and impose their decisions on the population. Authoritarianism also evolves over time and a country can become either more or less authoritarian. South Korea, for example, over the past four decades has gradually replaced its authoritarian institutions and policies with more democratic ones. Authoritarian political systems have successfully used character assassination as a policy tool. Leaders could directly benefit from such attacks, which can weaken and disarm their opponents morally and psychologically. By portraying an individual’s character in a very negative light, an attacker makes it easy to put the blame on that person for business mistakes, social problems, or policy failures. This practice is called scapegoating, or unfairly singling out and blaming a person or group for their alleged actions or certain negative outcomes.