Guided democracy
Democratic governments acting as autocracies
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Through Democracy, Authoritarianism and State (polity)
The term "guided democracy" was used by Pakistani president Ayub Khan in the 1960s, by historians to refer to the Sanation regime of Poland from 1926 to 1939, and was an official name for Indonesian democracy under the Sukarno presidency in the early 1960s.
Examples
Poland under Sanation
The Sanation regime that governed interwar Poland from 1926 to 1939 is considered an example of guided democracy, during both its first phase from 1926 to 1930, as well as the final 1930–1939 phase. The regime retained much of the structures and institutions of Polish parliamentary democracy, even though Józef Piłsudski exercised such large influence on the government that he "assumed some of the postures of a dictator". The 1935 April Constitution of Poland implemented by Sanacja centralized most state power in the hands of President, but the Polish guided democracy nevertheless stayed pluralistic, even if authoritarian. The opposition sat in the parliament and local governments, and political parties were allowed to function legally.
Polish historian Andrzej Chojnowski notes that elections under Piłsudski's regime were still organised along the principles of parliamentary democracy, and the Sanacja regime was genuinely popular as the opposition parties were blamed for failing to prevent the Great Depression. Writing about late Sanacja, Antony Polonsky stated that even after 1930, "parties survived, the press was fairly free, criticism was allowed", thus maintaining the system of guided democracy. While the actions of the opposition were hampered, repressions were rare and only two parties were banned: Camp of Great Poland and National Radical Camp.
Indonesia under Sukarno
After World War II, the term "guided democracy" was used in Indonesia for the approach to government under the Sukarno administration from 1959 to 1966.
Russia under Putin
The term "managed democracy" has been used to describe the political system of Russia under Vladimir Putin by former Putin advisor Gleb Pavlovsky, by media, and by Russian intellectual Marat Gelman.