Communicating authoritarian elite cohesion

Bibliographic Data

ID5777522
AuthorsAndreas Schedler (0000-0003-2821-613X, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, corresponding author), Bert Hoffmann (0000-0001-7522-3610, German Institute for Global and Area Studies)
Year2015
Volume23
Issue1
Pages93-117
Publication date2015-10-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemocratization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13510347.2015.1095181
OpenAlexW2179891499
LanguageEN
Citations received26
References cited47

In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to analyse the communicative imperatives authoritarian regimes face as a consequence of their self-inflicted opacities. The most important facts about the actors and factors that sustain authoritarian rule are unobservable. To demonstrate their power, authoritarian rulers have to render them visible. They have to dramatize their power and present on the front stage what they want people to know about the backstage of authoritarian politics. We conceptualize the communicative strategies of authoritarian rulers with a focus on the primary existential threats they face: the lateral threats that emanate from within the authoritarian elite. We illustrate dictators' communicative repertoire with empirical material from communist Cuba from 2006 to 2011, during the critical juncture of leadership transition from Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl

Elite · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Cuban History and Society · Politics and Society in Latin America

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