Project Title
Seeing Like an Entrepreneur: Exploiting Authoritarian Populism through Creative Destruction
Abstract
Liberal democracy faces mounting threats from authoritarianism both at home and abroad. This project examines how liberal democracy can be strengthened by leveraging party competition with authoritarian populism, rather than merely defending the status quo. While authoritarian populist parties undermine democratic norms and institutions, they also introduce political innovations that make them more adaptable to the structural conditions in which all parties find themselves. Drawing on Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of “creative destruction,” I suggest that defending liberal democracy and defeating authoritarian populism requires more than electoral success; it demands a deeper strategic vision that absorbs and surpasses the political innovations of authoritarian populism to moderate its policy agenda through a new cycle of creative destruction and competitive pressure.