Global Authoritarianism: Perspectives and Contestations from the South

We are witnessing a worldwide resurgence of reactionary ideologies and movements, combined with an escalating assault on democratic institutions and structures. Nevertheless, most studies of these phenomena remain anchored in a methodological nationalism, while comparative research is almost entirely limited to the Global North. Yet, authoritarian transformations in the South — and the struggles against them — have not only been just as dramatic as those in the North but also preceded them, and consequently have been studied by Southern scholars for many years.

Product of three years of collective work at the International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter-Strategies (IRGAC) and published by transcript Verlag in cooperation with Columbia University Press, this volume brings together 15 global perspectives from the South on authoritarian transformations and internationalist counter-strategies.

With essays written by scholar-activists from Brazil, India, Turkey, Argentina, Ecuador, South Africa, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar and Philippines, this book offers multiple views on the phenomenon of global authoritarianism combines in-depth studies of regional processes of socio-political transformation with a global perspective on authoritarian capitalism. Argentinian feminist theorist and activist Verónica Gago contributed a foreword to the volume.

You can find the book in your local bookstore, or download your open-access version here.