Authoritarian Conservatism
Authoritarian conservatism defends order, hierarchy and national tradition through a strong, centralised state. Elections may exist but are controlled, and opposition, the press and civil society are restricted. Religion and tradition serve as sources of legitimacy.
- Order and stability come before individual rights and political pluralism.
- A strong executive should rule, with limited checks.
- National tradition and established religion are pillars of the state.
Historical examples include Portugal's Estado Novo under António Salazar (1933–1974) and Spain under Franco, particularly in its later decades. The political scientist Juan Linz, writing about Franco's Spain, distinguished such regimes from fascism: they lack a mass revolutionary movement and rely on traditional elites, the army and the church.
Critics point to repression, censorship and the absence of accountability. Liberals argue that it entrenches the power of narrow elites and stifles economic dynamism.
Countries and historical regimes whose 12-axis profile is closer to Authoritarian Conservatism than to any other ideology in the test.
Countries today
- Russia91%
- Turkey89%
- Saudi Arabia85%
Historical regimes
- Meiji Japan83%
- Prussia78%
Authoritarian Conservatism is also the second-closest ideology for: Egypt, Qing China, Serbia, Belarus, Iran, Napoleonic France, Fascist Italy, Francoist Spain, Venezuela, Sparta, Nazi Germany, Inca Empire.
Method: each ideology is placed at a typical position on the 12 axes, scored from 0 to 100 toward the first pole. Ranks compare it with the other 45 ideologies; matches are 100 minus the average distance across all axes. The positions are our own calibration, not taken from any third-party source.