ABSTRACT
This chapter takes into full account the literature on the hybrid regime and starts by distinguishing it from a transitional phase, defining that hybrid regimes as a set of institutions that have been persistent – be they stable or unstable – for about a decade, have been preceded by authoritarianism, traditional regime, or even minimal democracy and are characterized by the break-up of limited pluralism and forms of independent, autonomous participation but with the absence of at least one of the four aspects of a minimal democracy. The main models and typologies of the hybrid regime will be discussed and, eventually, three types are proposed: limited democracy, democracy without a state, and quasi-democracy. Finally, an analysis of some of the most meaningful cases of evolution from democracy to hybrid regime and vice versa during the first decades of this century will be carried out. These analyses will show how, and to what extent, liberal and illiberal trends coexist in a multipolar international world.
