Techno-Authoritarians and Techno-Populists: Exploring the Relationship for the Support for Experts and Liberal Democracy-Averse Attitudes

European democracies are increasingly under strain, with the rise of radical right parties posing significant challenges to the democratic resilience of many countries. One proposed solution to mitigate such tensions is the appointment of independent technocrats to government positions. From this perspective, "depoliticizing politics" could enable mainstream parties to regain electoral momentum while preventing challenger parties from gaining power. However, technocracy has a problematic relationship with liberal democracy. By sidelining core democratic principles—such as the centrality of parliaments in decision-making and the formation of popular will through the reconciliation of competing interests—technocracy can challenger key tenets of democratic governance. In this sense, technocracy shares certain characteristics with democracy-averse attitudes, such as populism and, to a certain extent, authoritarianism. Using a novel survey conducted in six European countries, this study explores relationship between technocracy and authoritarian attitudes and technocracy and populist attitudes. Specifically, we examine the emergence of two groups of citizens, (a) "techno-populists" and (b) "techno-authoritarians"—citizens who support technocratic governance, where experts are the key decision-makers, while also espousing populist or authoritarian beliefs. Our second objective is to profile these individuals: are techno-populists and techno-authoritarians primarily disenfranchised, alienated, and economically insecure, as suggested for example by the stealth democracy theory? Or are they affluent, elitist citizens who distrust political parties and doubt the capacity of ordinary people to make sound political decisions? Finally, we investigate the electoral behaviour of these groups, seeking to identify any distinct patterns of support for radical-right parties. By doing so, this paper aims to shed light on the complex relationship between technocracy, populism, authoritarianism, and the dynamics of voting behaviour in contemporary European democracies.