The Trend of Mobilization for Autocracy

By: Anisha Maulida
Dec 14, 2021


This week’s Graph of the Week highlights the trend of autocratic mobilization– especially in countries with populist leaders. Political leaders increasingly use mobilization to promote their anti-democratic agenda. For example, on January 6, 2021, pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol incited by former President Donald Trump on the spurious grounds of mass electoral fraud. In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly called supporters to rally around several undemocratic slogans, including the removal of all supreme court ministers and pro-coup messages. These rallies continued during his presidency, despite a significant drop in 2020 during the pandemic. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters coordinated a series of pro-government rallies. Especially in the face of active farmers’ marches since November 2020 against a planned reform of agriculture laws, Modi and his supporters coordinated pro-Modi rallies to threaten the opposition by targeting the communities and neighborhoods with a large farmer population.