Career Motivations in Authoritarian Regimes

Research explores the role of mediocre employees in supporting authoritarian regimes. Autocrats require assistance from various layers within their administrations. Notable examples include Vladimir Putin relying on oligarchs in Russia, the Revolutionary Guards supporting Iran’s regime, and Viktor Orban’s transformation of Hungary with the help of select judges and political enforcers.

While incentives for elite loyalty have been extensively studied, less is understood about ground-level compliance. Until recently, assumptions were that cooperation stemmed from ideological extremism or fear. New insights from Argentina’s Dirty War suggest career pressures, such as the drive for promotions, motivate lower-level officials to disregard norms and ethics.

A book by German political scientists Adam Scharpf and Christian Glassel, titled “Making a Career in Dictatorship,” explores this concept. It aligns Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil” with career strategies within authoritarian settings. Their research identifies “career-pressured” individuals among Argentina’s military and secret police, highlighting their pursuit of career advancement by bypassing conventional hierarchies.

This approach shows that authoritarians need not rely on ideological zealots. Instead, targeting frustrated, mediocre workers may suffice for consolidating power.