Rethinking Authoritarian Transformations

The Plurality of Power, Resurgent Sovereignty and Everyday Politics.A Rejoinder to Adam’s Zersetzung und Refiguration

Abstract

In this rejoinder to Jens Adam’s article on authoritarian transformation, I focus on his proposed analytic framework, highlighting its strengths while also offering three critiques. I commend his rejection of binary views of authoritarianism, particularly the simplistic opposition between democracy and autocracy, and his nuanced treatment of affect and institutional reconfiguration as core components of political transformation. However, I argue that his concept of "soft authoritarianism" simplifies the multiplicity of power logics, neglects the centrality of sovereign power, and overlooks the agency of ordinary people. Drawing on fieldwork in Hungary and insights from political anthropology, I advocate for a more granular understanding of power, relationality, and everyday politics under authoritarian rule.