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How the authoritarian dynamic shaped UK politics

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Recently, on Twitter, the work of Karen Stenner generated some excellent debate. In her book, The Authoritarian Dynamic (2005), she builds a strong case that authoritarianism is a trait is always present within society. She predicts that roughly a third of any population will have the predisposition, the implications of which are far-reaching and profound. They were explored brilliantly in a thread by @dasvee (das_v, 2021). Crucial to the argument is that levels of threat are knowingly manipulated by politicians with the help of a complicit media. Understanding how authoritarianism can be triggered can help answer some of the most puzzling questions. Why, for example, does Tory support remain so consistently high? Why do people often vote against their own interests? Why is the strategy of division so effective? Investigations into the authoritarian disposition derive from the catastrophes of the 20th Century. They acknowledge that for a nation state to become fascist, the people the
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The Political Brain[dead]

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What are we to make of Labour? The latest polling shows it falling well behind the Tories. True, there is a "vaccine bounce", but Labour looks weak and demoralised. We could look at the quality of its frontline MPs, or Starmer, or its tactics. But there seems to be something more fundamentally wrong. Does Labour even understand modern politics? Given that there is clearly a growing chasm between what Labour fought for in the past, and what modern workers now believe in, it is easy to see why its traditional rhetoric might fail, particularly with social conservatism so deeply embedded. That attack line has clearly passed its sell by date. But Labour shows no sign of knowing what to replace it with. The problem is, Labour does not seem to understand politics in any other way than a numbers game. It correctly understands that there is a big problem outside the metropolitan areas, thanks to FPTP. And its one discernible strategy flows from that: to appeal to those voters. Even wi
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Starmer's speech

Following my previous blog post , in which I cast doubt on Starmer's strategy of silence, especially on Brexit, his speech A New Chapter for Britain was a further opportunity to evaluate his development as party leader. While the speech garnered some favourable criticism for the announcement of a Covid recovery bond, it largely disappeared without trace. Many will be unaware of its existence. One reason for this can certainly be put down to a hostile media. However, another reason was that, to be blunt, it was dull. The problem was in the writing. Marlon Brando would have struggled to deliver it. Normally, in any well-constructed argument, the central thesis is prepared for at the top. Expectation is nurtured and the payoffs are plotted. So it was something of a surprise for this line to appear more than halfway down. And that puts tackling the climate emergency at the centre of everything we do. If tackling the climate emergency really is at the centre of Labour policy, what on e
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Starmer and the limits of keeping quiet

For those Labour supporters desperate for effective leadership, Starmer looked the part. First, he removed Rebecca Long-Bailey after she cornered herself by liking a tweet condoning an antisemitic conspiracy theory - a man with brawn as well as brains. He beats Johnson at PMQs for fun. Then, in a game akin to school ground noughts and crosses, he consistently out-thinks his opponent on Covid-19 measures. Yet for all this, the polls have only moved sluggishly in his direction. The party stands roughly neck and neck with the Conservatives (39% - 39% according to the latest YouGov poll [1]). It would appear a ceiling has been reached. Labour can no longer depend on its enemy to donate popularity points. We are now down to the much tougher votes to win. Proving his competence will not be enough. He must go much further. He must prove himself on the bigger issues of the day - on which elections are won. Opinion is divided on how well he is doing. The more positive commentary portrays Starme
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Trump and the destruction of rational consensus

  With attention focused on the US election, what can we learn that might throw light on the appeal of authoritarian populism? There is no doubt that what we have witnessed confounds our expectation of what is normal. However bad presidents may have been, none has ever sought to undermine the democratic process itself. None has ever threatened to blatantly cheat a victory. That millions of Trump supporters seem perfectly happy with this marks a terrifying moment. If more than half of the people turn against democracy, it will fail. America was, and perhaps still is, perilously close to that tipping point. The question for us, and anyone trying to understand authoritarian populism, is how entire communities can become convinced that dispensing with democracy is in their best interests? A glance at the distribution of votes tells us that Trump had more support in rural areas than the cities and that less populated areas were more susceptible to his message. We see immediately that
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