Authoritarian Vestiges in Democracies

Bibliographic Data

ID6287422
AuthorsJohn Loxton (0000-0001-6055-1638, corresponding author), James Loxton
Year2021
Volume32
Issue2
Pages145-158
Publication date2021-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of democracy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-5736 • E-ISSN: 1086-3214
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jod.2021.0025
OpenAlexW3153267879
LanguageEN
Citations received9

Democratization almost never means a clean slate. Most new democracies are littered with vestiges of the old regime. This article examines three such authoritarian vestiges: authoritarian successor parties, authoritarian-era constitutions, and subnational authoritarian enclaves. All three are extremely common. They are not, however, equally harmful. While there is no silver lining to subnational authoritarianism, the effects of the other two are less clear-cut. Authoritarian successor parties, in particular, can have surprising benefits by helping to create a viable opposition and incorporating democratic "spoilers

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Democratization · Economic system · Economics · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Successor cardinal · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Political Philosophy and Ethics

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