To appease or to repress

How dictators use economic dynamics to increase their regime longevity

Bibliographic Data

ID21584792
AuthorsMerel Harrijvan (0000-0002-7808-9688, corresponding author), Maartje Weerdesteijn (0000-0001-9205-8557)
Year2020
Volume74
Issue3
Pages315-338
Publication date2020-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCrime Law and Social Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0925-4994 • E-ISSN: 1573-0751
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10611-020-09911-4
OpenAlexW3043701316
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited53

International crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, are more likely to occur in non-democratic regimes. Consequently, the decision-making process of dictators has increasingly garnered criminological interest [78]. The decisions dictators make and the strategies they use impact the longevity of their regime. Scholars predominantly focus on the extent to which a dictator is able to generate support from both the elite and the masses in explaining regime survival [3, 22, 54]. A dictator can use economic dynamics to increase his support among the elite through corrupt practices [3], he can determine the extent to which he is supported by the masses by offering public goods and services to them [22] and he can withhold benefits to repress threats stemming from these groups [17]. However, the intentional use of these strategies to increase regime survival remains under-researched [77]. The present research aims to fill this gap through an analysis of Paul Biya’s 37-year reign in Cameroon. It is argued that the economic structure of a country influences the strategy—repression or appeasement—that is chosen to deal with the threat stemming from the masses or the elite and that ultimately, these considerations are likely to influence the economic development of a country

Democracy · Development economics · Dictator · Economics · Elite · Genocide · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social unrest · Sociology · Corruption and Economic Development · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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