Abstract:  Liberal democracy has been increasingly challenged not only by illiberal democracy but also by the Dark Enlightenment (also named neoreactionarism, abbreviated to NRx and characterised as neo-fascist), which has been supported by the top segment of global high-tech corporations based in the US. These concepts of governing have not been directly compared, either in general or in their treatment of elections in particular. This article compares these concepts with more detailed insight into a conceptualisation of free and fair elections, which form the critical difference between liberal democracy and autocracy, and are an institution vulnerable to the misuse of AI. Based on the conceptualisation of free and fair elections and a review of the sources (academic literature and reports related to AI and elections), this article offers: (a) an overview of the (mis)use of AI to affect three stages in the election processes (before, on, and after polling day); (b) a taxonomy of segments in the election process with their particular vulnerabilities for AI (mis)use; and (c) a preliminary overview of the estimated impact of AI (mis)use on elections. The article argues that so far, AI has been only to a limited extent instrumentalised in support of liberal democracy. Rather, it has been predominantly misused in favour of illiberal democracy and Dark Enlightenment alternatives to liberal democracy.

Keywords:  AI; liberal democracy; illiberal democracy; Dark Enlightenment; elections

Published:   21 August 2025

Issue:   Vol 13 (2025): Debating Democracy: Concepts, Histories, and Controversies