Steven Bartlett with Anne Applebaum
Elections can continue while meaningful competition disappears. Corruption, captured institutions, information control, and loyal security forces can leave a democracy intact on paper while making its leaders harder to remove.
Corruption is not just misconduct but a governing method, turning state power into a tool for rewarding loyalists, punishing opponents, and enriching the ruling circle.
Electoral manipulation helps leaders avoid the uncertainty of fair competition by reshaping maps, rules, and administrative barriers so opposition voters are disadvantaged.
Personnel capture weakens democratic resilience by removing neutral officials and replacing them with loyalists, making the state serve the leader instead of the law.