Competitive Authoritarianism

Introduction and Theory

Bibliographic Data

ID19609806
AuthorsSteven Levitsky, Lucan A Way (0000-0001-9702-9034)
Year2010
Pages536
Publication date2010-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
Reviewed byCompetitive authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the Cold War, Michael Seeberg, 2012
VenueCompetitive Authoritarianism Hybrid Regimes After The Cold War (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9780511781353
OpenAlexW2264769561
ISBN9780511781353
Open LibraryOL26028419M
LanguageEN
Citations received2,073

Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Economics · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Corruption and Economic Development · Law · Philosophy · 1980 · 1991 · Case studies · Democratization · Peru · Political development · Political stability · politics and government · Ukraine