a system where elections still exist, opposition parties still campaign, and people still vote, but the playing field around the ballot box is no longer genuinely equal.
turkey is a useful example. elections can still produce real surprises and opposition victories, but state resources, media power, pressure on opponents, and weakened institutional independence can heavily favor those already in power.
that is what makes electoral autocracy interesting. the government does not need to abolish elections.
it only needs to make sure democracy happens on increasingly uneven ground.
the ballot box survives.
the ecosystem that makes the ballot box meaningful slowly erodes.
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