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Cited by 67Political Conflict and GovernancePolitical Theory and DemocracyPopulism, Right-Wing Movements

Authoritarianism, Populism, and the Global Retreat of Democracy: A Curated Discussion

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Adler, Paul S., Adly, Amr, Armanios, Daniel Erian, Battilana, Julie, Bodrožić, Zlatko, Clegg, Stewart, Davis, Gerald F., Gartenberg, Claudine +9 more·2023·Journal of Management Inquiry
DOI 10.1177/10564926221119395
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Abstract

To the surprise of many in the West, the fall of the USSR in 1991 did not lead to the adoption of liberal democratic government around the world and the much anticipated “end of history.” In fact, authoritarianism has made a comeback, and liberal democracy has been on the retreat for at least the last 15 years culminating in the unthinkable: the invasion of a democratic European country by an authoritarian regime. But why does authoritarianism continue to spread, not only as an alternative to liberal democracy, but also within many liberal democracies where authoritarian leaders continue to gain strength and popularity? In this curated piece, contributors discuss some of the potential contributions of management scholarship to understanding authoritarianism, as well as highlight a number of directions for management research in this area.

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  • Social media platforms have reversed a longstanding trend, harmful to democracy, towards corporate media consolidation.

    “Social media platforms have reversed a longstanding trend, harmful to democracy, towards corporate media consolidation (Adler et al., 2023).”

    From Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy (2025) · cites this paper as Adler et al., 2023

    “Organizing the Authoritarian State” (p. 12) links concentrated news-media ownership to the ease with which authoritarians can co-opt media. “Social Media” (p. 15) says platforms let people disseminate messages without vetting or filtering. Neither passage says social media reversed a longstanding trend toward corporate media consolidation. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Authors
Adler, P. S., Adly, A., Armanios, D. E., Battilana, J., Bodrožić, Z., Clegg, S., Davis, G. F., Gartenberg, C., Glynn, M. A., Aslan Gümüsay, A., Haveman, H. A., Leonardi, P., Lounsbury, M., McGahan, A. M., Meyer, R., Phillips, N., & Sheppard-Jones, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • American University in Cairo (EG)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Vienna University of Economics and Business (AT)
Corresponding author
Phillips, Nelson
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Management Inquiry
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2022-08-25
Volume
32
Issue
1
Pages
3-20
ISSN
  • 1056-4926 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-6542
DOI
10.1177/10564926221119395
OpenAlex
W4293217435
Cited by
67
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7
FWCI
19.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Management Inquiry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
  • Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • WU Research (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
Keywords
authoritarianism, populism, democratic backsliding, liberal democracy, management research agenda

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