Martin K Dimitrov
Biographic Data
| ID | 1282307 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martin K Dimitrov |
| GIVEN NAMES | Martin K |
| FAMILY NAME | Dimitrov |
| SIGNATURE | DIMITROV M K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Tulane University |
| ORCID | 0009-0002-5955-9565 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 149 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Strength in Numbers
This article proceeds from a novel empirical finding: namely, there is substantial divergence in the size of the communist party between two subtypes of communist autocracies (revolutionary vs. nonrevolutionary regimes). The communist party is small at the moment of the seizure of power in the revolutionary dictatorships (e.g., China) and remains relatively small throughout their lifespan. By contrast, in the nonrevolutionary subtype (e.g., Bulga…
Response to Lucan Way’s Review of Dictatorship and Information
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button
Retrofitting Leninism
Dictatorship and Information
This study offers a systematic theory of the institutional solutions to the dictator’s dilemma, which arises from the incapacity to calibrate repression and concessions due to the lack of information about elite and popular discontent. Empirically, the book presents a detailed discussion of the types of information-gathering institutions created in autocracies, paying particular attention to the difference between standard mechanisms for the retr…
The Functions of Letters to the Editor in Reform-Era Cuba
On March 14, 2008, Granma started publication of a new section entitled Cartas a la dirección , which printed letters to the editor containing complaints, criticisms, and suggestions. The section rapidly grew in popularity and became the most closely read portion of the Friday paper. This essay engages with three related questions that have theoretical relevance beyond the specific case of Cuba. First, why would the flagship newspaper in a commun…
The Political Logic of Media Control in China
The Social Contract Revisited
The social contract thesis explained stability in communist autocracies as a consequence of an implicit exchange between the regime and the populace: citizens remained quiescent and the regime provided them with secure jobs, social services, subsidised housing, and consumer goods. Our essay asks how well the social contract thesis applies in three different types of regimes. We review classic literature on the socialist social contract in light o…
Structural preconditions for the rise of the rule of law in China
This essay advocates for adopting a disaggregated approach when evaluating the progress that non-democratic countries like China are making towards establishing the rule of law. An understanding that the rule of law may develop in some areas, though not in others, allows us to identify the structural underpinnings of a limited rule-of-law system. The essay adopts a procedural definition of the rule of law as rules-based governance and argues that…
Internal Government Assessments of the Quality of Governance in China
The Case of the Soviet Union During the Brezhnev Era
Can autocracies obtain accurate information on popular opinion? This article approaches this question by focusing on the Soviet Union during the Brezhnev period. Based on Soviet archival materials (primarily Fond 89, the Volkogonov papers, and the Rubinov collection), the article argues that the Soviet regime relied on three main channels to track popular preferences: the kgb , opinion polling, and the analysis of citizen complaint letters. Each …
State Security, Information, and Repression
The centrality of a strong state security apparatus to the maintenance of authoritarian rule via the threat or use of repression has been highlighted in classic studies of single-party regimes as well as in more recent analyses of authoritarian resilience in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This article focuses on two other fundamental questions related to the operation of state security forces in single-party autocracies during the Cold War. …
What the Party Wanted to Know
Authoritarian governments produce internal assessments of the quality of governance that allow them to identify and address brewing problems before they threaten regime stability. This paper provides a theory of how the information necessary to produce such assessments is collected. The empirical focus of the paper is on pre-1989 Bulgaria, which is used to illustrate how information-gathering channels in communist autocracies differ from those us…
Piracy and the State
In this original study of intellectual property rights (IPR) in relation to state capacity, Dimitrov analyzes this puzzle by offering the first systematic analysis of all IPR enforcement avenues in China, across all IPR subtypes. He shows that the extremely high volume of enforcement provided for copyrights and trademarks is unfortunately of a low quality, and as such serves only to perpetuate IPR violations. In the area of patents, however, he f…
Piracy and the state
Debating the Color Revolutions
Levels of regime strength and links to the West help to explain authoritarian breakdown, but the ruler’s popularity also matters
The Resilient Authoritarians
China and Russia, along with a number of other countries, demonstrate that capitalism can exist without Western-style democracy, at least for a period of time
Claude Lefort, Complications
October 01 2008 Claude Lefort, Complications: Communism and the Dilemmas of Democracy. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Martin Dimitrov Online Issn: 1531-3298 Print Issn: 1520-3972 © 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology2008 Journal of Cold War Studies (2008) 10 (4): 172–173. https://doi.org/10.1162/jcws.2008.10.4.172 Cite Icon Cite Permissions S…
Capitalism Without Democracy
Journal Article Capitalism Without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China by Kellee S. Tsai Get access Capitalism Without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China by Kellee S. Tsai. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2007. 268 pp. Cloth, $55.00; paper, $21.00. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Dartmouth College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 123…
Corruption and Market in Contemporary China
Journal Article Corruption and Market in Contemporary China Get access Corruption and Market in Contemporary China by Yan Sun. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2004. 272 pp. Cloth, $49.95; paper, $21.00. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Dartmouth College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 120, Issue 2, Summer 2005, Pages 342–343, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2005…
What the Party Wanted to Know
Authoritarian governments produce internal assessments of the quality of governance that allow them to identify and address brewing problems before they threaten regime stability. This paper provides a theory of how the information necessary to produce such assessments is collected. The empirical focus of the paper is on pre-1989 Bulgaria, which is used to illustrate how information-gathering channels in communist autocracies differ from those us…
Internal Government Assessments of the Quality of Governance in China
Debating the Color Revolutions
Levels of regime strength and links to the West help to explain authoritarian breakdown, but the ruler’s popularity also matters
The Social Contract Revisited
The social contract thesis explained stability in communist autocracies as a consequence of an implicit exchange between the regime and the populace: citizens remained quiescent and the regime provided them with secure jobs, social services, subsidised housing, and consumer goods. Our essay asks how well the social contract thesis applies in three different types of regimes. We review classic literature on the socialist social contract in light o…
State Security, Information, and Repression
The centrality of a strong state security apparatus to the maintenance of authoritarian rule via the threat or use of repression has been highlighted in classic studies of single-party regimes as well as in more recent analyses of authoritarian resilience in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This article focuses on two other fundamental questions related to the operation of state security forces in single-party autocracies during the Cold War. …
The Political Logic of Media Control in China
Structural preconditions for the rise of the rule of law in China
This essay advocates for adopting a disaggregated approach when evaluating the progress that non-democratic countries like China are making towards establishing the rule of law. An understanding that the rule of law may develop in some areas, though not in others, allows us to identify the structural underpinnings of a limited rule-of-law system. The essay adopts a procedural definition of the rule of law as rules-based governance and argues that…
Corruption and Market in Contemporary China
Journal Article Corruption and Market in Contemporary China Get access Corruption and Market in Contemporary China by Yan Sun. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2004. 272 pp. Cloth, $49.95; paper, $21.00. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Dartmouth College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 120, Issue 2, Summer 2005, Pages 342–343, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2005…
Corruption and Market in Contemporary China
Journal Article Corruption and Market in Contemporary China Get access Corruption and Market in Contemporary China by Yan Sun. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2004. 272 pp. Cloth, $49.95; paper, $21.00. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Dartmouth College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 120, Issue 2, Summer 2005, Pages 342–343, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2005…
The Resilient Authoritarians
China and Russia, along with a number of other countries, demonstrate that capitalism can exist without Western-style democracy, at least for a period of time
Claude Lefort, Complications
October 01 2008 Claude Lefort, Complications: Communism and the Dilemmas of Democracy. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Martin Dimitrov Online Issn: 1531-3298 Print Issn: 1520-3972 © 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology2008 Journal of Cold War Studies (2008) 10 (4): 172–173. https://doi.org/10.1162/jcws.2008.10.4.172 Cite Icon Cite Permissions S…
Capitalism Without Democracy
Journal Article Capitalism Without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China by Kellee S. Tsai Get access Capitalism Without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China by Kellee S. Tsai. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2007. 268 pp. Cloth, $55.00; paper, $21.00. Martin Dimitrov Martin Dimitrov Dartmouth College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 123…
Piracy and the State
In this original study of intellectual property rights (IPR) in relation to state capacity, Dimitrov analyzes this puzzle by offering the first systematic analysis of all IPR enforcement avenues in China, across all IPR subtypes. He shows that the extremely high volume of enforcement provided for copyrights and trademarks is unfortunately of a low quality, and as such serves only to perpetuate IPR violations. In the area of patents, however, he f…
Piracy and the state
Debating the Color Revolutions
Levels of regime strength and links to the West help to explain authoritarian breakdown, but the ruler’s popularity also matters
What the Party Wanted to Know
Authoritarian governments produce internal assessments of the quality of governance that allow them to identify and address brewing problems before they threaten regime stability. This paper provides a theory of how the information necessary to produce such assessments is collected. The empirical focus of the paper is on pre-1989 Bulgaria, which is used to illustrate how information-gathering channels in communist autocracies differ from those us…
The Case of the Soviet Union During the Brezhnev Era
Can autocracies obtain accurate information on popular opinion? This article approaches this question by focusing on the Soviet Union during the Brezhnev period. Based on Soviet archival materials (primarily Fond 89, the Volkogonov papers, and the Rubinov collection), the article argues that the Soviet regime relied on three main channels to track popular preferences: the kgb , opinion polling, and the analysis of citizen complaint letters. Each …
State Security, Information, and Repression
The centrality of a strong state security apparatus to the maintenance of authoritarian rule via the threat or use of repression has been highlighted in classic studies of single-party regimes as well as in more recent analyses of authoritarian resilience in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This article focuses on two other fundamental questions related to the operation of state security forces in single-party autocracies during the Cold War. …
Internal Government Assessments of the Quality of Governance in China
Structural preconditions for the rise of the rule of law in China
This essay advocates for adopting a disaggregated approach when evaluating the progress that non-democratic countries like China are making towards establishing the rule of law. An understanding that the rule of law may develop in some areas, though not in others, allows us to identify the structural underpinnings of a limited rule-of-law system. The essay adopts a procedural definition of the rule of law as rules-based governance and argues that…
The Political Logic of Media Control in China
The Social Contract Revisited
The social contract thesis explained stability in communist autocracies as a consequence of an implicit exchange between the regime and the populace: citizens remained quiescent and the regime provided them with secure jobs, social services, subsidised housing, and consumer goods. Our essay asks how well the social contract thesis applies in three different types of regimes. We review classic literature on the socialist social contract in light o…
Dictatorship and Information
This study offers a systematic theory of the institutional solutions to the dictator’s dilemma, which arises from the incapacity to calibrate repression and concessions due to the lack of information about elite and popular discontent. Empirically, the book presents a detailed discussion of the types of information-gathering institutions created in autocracies, paying particular attention to the difference between standard mechanisms for the retr…
The Functions of Letters to the Editor in Reform-Era Cuba
On March 14, 2008, Granma started publication of a new section entitled Cartas a la dirección , which printed letters to the editor containing complaints, criticisms, and suggestions. The section rapidly grew in popularity and became the most closely read portion of the Friday paper. This essay engages with three related questions that have theoretical relevance beyond the specific case of Cuba. First, why would the flagship newspaper in a commun…
Response to Lucan Way’s Review of Dictatorship and Information
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button
Retrofitting Leninism
Strength in Numbers
This article proceeds from a novel empirical finding: namely, there is substantial divergence in the size of the communist party between two subtypes of communist autocracies (revolutionary vs. nonrevolutionary regimes). The communist party is small at the moment of the seizure of power in the revolutionary dictatorships (e.g., China) and remains relatively small throughout their lifespan. By contrast, in the nonrevolutionary subtype (e.g., Bulga…
Political science (17 works) · Law (15 works) · Politics (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · China (10 works) · Democracy (10 works) · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance (8 works) · Communism (7 works) · Political economy (7 works)