undermining the regime, its likelihood of survival increases. Continued success will be secured by its ability to “exploit rather than resist broad social, political, and economic trends” that may serve to consolidate opposition to the regime or provide an opportunity for the regime to increase its hold on power.54 By the same token its failure to successfully exploit these trends may eventually lead to authoritarian decay and collapse. Levitsky and Way identified four areas through which opposition forces periodically challenge, weaken, and occasionally defeat autocratic incumbents. 1 electoral arena; 2 - the legislature; 3 - the judiciary; and 4 – the media.55 Manipulation of these arenas also serves as central in Heydemann’s theory of regime consolidation. Furthermore, O’Donnell defines real citizenship through the acquisition of individual rights expressed within each of these quarters. And he and Schmitter document authoritarian regime failure, in large measure because of the regime’s inability to successfully manage each one. If unrestrained and given an opening at a crucial time, these four entities that solidify regime hold on power, may just as effectively provide an avenue to bring it down. The balancing act that an authoritarian government must manage between allowing enough freedom within these institutions to justify its existence, and satisfy its citizenry, and not so much that the same machinery serves to undermine government control is crucial to its existence. Management of civil society and the media are key in extending regime control. They also serve as a necessity for consolidation in the undermining of that same authority. A huge amount of potential people power is locked up in civil society, often 54 Heydemann, 55
“Upgrading Authoritarianism,” 5. Levitsky and Way, “Competitive Authoritarianism,” 54.
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