Hybrid regimes: An Overview

Abstract

According to different types of democracy Indexes,  hybrid regimes or those in the gray zone, make up the majority of regime transformations in the third wave of democracy. However, after nearly three decades, conceptual confusion about hybrid regimes persists and grows, while obstructing the accumulation of knowledge about the nature of hybrid regimes. This leads to significant political repercussions for democratization. This Paper attempts to provide a clearer view of different and overlapping concepts. The classifications in this complex field, and sustain development in democratic transformation are highlighted in the literature review. To achieve this, we followed an approach based on the classification of concepts and terms in three distinct categories, based on the different trends and successive stages in literature on hybrid regimes. This limits the conceptual stretching and intellectual bias. It also helps to extrapolate the elements of contrast and diversity to highlight the prospects for the transition to those regimes as much as possible. The Paper reached a number of results. The transition paradigm was the product of a previous stage during the strong early days of the third wave. Similarly, the subsequent facts have proven that this was not "the end of history." The hybrid regimes expressed these facts through their different patterns that were in multiple directions due to various cases and contexts. Therefore, the transition outcomes are also as accommodating towards the diversity in the experiences of different democratic countries.