Everything is clear in the case of classical authoritarianism. There is Putin, there are people surrounding him in the Kremlin, there are governors, generals, the KGB, the police, batons, automatic rifles, and censored federal TV channels.
There is also a minority that does not like that. Sometimes, that minority holds protests, but it does not damage the authorities. In extreme cases, the need to “remove” people like Navalni arises. There is a majority that does not care about these protests or demands. In the best case scenario, that majority complains about the minority- “Why are you preventing us from living peacefully?”
With no mechanisms for elections and political struggle in such countries, Putin and his “selectorate” (the people he selected) have ruled quietly for decades, until the indifferent majority is more or less satisfied.
In the case of classical democracies, too, everything is clear. There is an elected government that changes regularly. There are also different types of minorities that are very active and constantly carry out some protests. The government listens to them and takes steps to protect them. There is a majority that, although they complain about these activists on a daily basis, usually do not oppose it publicly; the law forbids it.
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The government is still based on that majority and, divided into one and a half, two, or more parties, rules “alternately.”
The Armenian regime is “hybrid” in that respect. The electoral mechanism in 2018, in general, has been restored. There are channels on TV that are not censored. But despite all that, Pashinyan rules almost like Putin or Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (I understand, of course, the essential differences between the three).
The problem, apparently, is the following. There is a minority in Armenia that is suffering from territorial and human losses, but there is a majority (I continue to insist that this is how the majority of citizens participating in the elections can be described) who are indifferent to those losses. There is a minority who believes that in all cases, everything should be done by law, and there is a majority who are convinced that the law should not work for some people, and here they should be guided by “revolutionary ideals.”
As in democracies, power acts on behalf of that majority. As in authoritarian countries, first-person power is unlimited and uncontrollable.
Aram Abrahamyan
