Meaning & use
Illiberalism
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Political ideas or systems that reject core liberal democratic principles, such as free press, judicial independence, and minority rights, while often retaining elections.
See it in a sentence
Analysts warned that rising illiberalism threatened the country's democratic institutions.
The rise of illiberalism in several democracies has been linked to nationalist movements.
A note on using this word
The term became prominent in political science discourse in the 2010s to describe governments, sometimes called 'illiberal democracies,' that hold elections but curb civil liberties.
Words with an opposite meaning
liberalism
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