anocracy

[ uh-nok-ruh-see ]

noun

, plural a·noc·ra·cies

1. government that is a hybrid of democracy and autocracy, often as a transitional phase when one of these forms of government takes on characteristics of the other:

   Political scientists noted significant democratic reforms in the traditionally authoritarian regime’s evolution to anocracy.

2. a nation or state having such a form of government:

   Freedom of the press is one of the first pillars of democracy threatened in an anocracy’s slide toward totalitarianism.

Other Words From

• an·o·crat·ic [an-, uh, -, krat, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anocracy¹

First recorded in 1970–75; an- ¹( def ) + -o- ( def ) + -cracy ( def )

Example Sentences

A court that slid, almost imperceptibly, over the past few weeks from protecting a democracy to fostering anocracy, is a staggering democratic development, and yet almost nobody took note?

From Slate

But it's too little, too late, and we're all going to pay the price during the second term when Trump fully weaponizes the Department of Justice in retaliation and accelerates the United States decline into anocracy.

From Salon

She writes about a netherworld of anocracy — between democracy and autocracy — a breeding ground for political violence, where the grievances and resentments of a large White underclass have greatly increased the potential for civil war.

From Washington Post

These findings offer further evidence that the U.S. in the Age of Trump and beyond is what political scientists call an "anocracy," a system that combines features of dictatorship and democracy.

From Salon

Political scientists and other experts have warned that in the wake of the Trump presidency and the coup attempt of January 2021, the country is now an "anocracy," hovering in limbo between naked authoritarianism and a slowly failing democracy.

From Salon