comparative authoritarianism fielder test 1

polity score

21 point scale regime authority spectrum

-10 polity

hereditary monarchy (Polity)

+10 polity

consolidated democracy (polity)

-10 to -6 polity

autocracy polity

-5 to +5 polity

anocracy polity

+6 to +10 polity

democracy polity

polyarchy

process by which non-leaders control leaders

polity 4 democracy indicators

the degree of competitiveness, the openness of recruiting office-holders, degree of limitations on the executive

polity 4 autocracy indicators

indicators for democracy AND the regulation of
political participation

freedom house score

1-7 score; 2 = highly developed civil rights 14 = no civil rights

1 freedom house score

fully developed civil liberties

7 freedom house score

complete absence of civil liberties

1-2.5 freedom house score

free

3-5 freedom house score

partly free

5.5-7 freedom house score

not free

pseudo-exactness

democracy indicators with highly exact values are actually less statistically valuable than simpler number scores

ordinal data

data where the standard depends/is on a scale; i.e an undergraduate earning $2000 monthly may be on an 8/10 happiness scale, while a father of 3 earning $5000 rates 3/10

minimum definition of democracy

repeated elections with some degree of competition and participative inclusion of broad parts of the population

linz elements of authoritarianism

pluralism mobilization ideology

first phase of modernization

noncompetitive elections

second phase of modernization

noncompetitive elections + parties

third phase of modernization

competitive elections + parties; democratically disguised dictatorships

six syndrome traits

ideology, single party typically led by one person, terroristic police, communications monopoly, weapons monopoly, central economy

mobilization

process that engages society to raise awareness/demand for something

depoliticization

removing political engagement from citizens lives

privatization

push for citizens to shift their attention to private affairs rather than public for the benefit of the authoritarian regime

praetorianism

chronic military intervention in politics

competitive authoritarianism

the coexistence of meaningful democratic institutions and serious incumbent abuse yields electoral competition that is real but unfair

electoral democracy

citizens have the right to participate in meaningful, free and fair, and multi-party elections.

liberal democracy

citizens have further individual and minority rights + limits on executive legislative and the courts.

carothers five faulty assumptions about democracy

1. any country moving away from dictatorship is de facto moving towards democracy

2. democracy unfolds in a set sequence; opening, breakthrough, consolidation

3. elections equal democracy

4. the underlying conditions in transitional countries is NOT a major factor in the path to democracy

5. the assumption that democratic transitions in the third wave are all within already functional states

levitsky and way 4 criteria of democracy

1. open free and fair elections

2. virtually all adults possess the right to vote;

3. protected civil rights and civil liberties

4. elected authorities possess real authority to govern

levitsky and way 4 arenas of contestation

electoral arena, legislative arena, judicial arena, the media

tucker common themes of totalitarianism

• mass social base and having a popular character

• highly bureaucatized

• systematic and broad use of terror against ordinary citizens

gleason totalitarianism vs private life

doctrinal understandings of totalitarianism say private life is deeply intruded on but in reality not the case

donju

high elites who benefited from north korea being unable to provide for citizens by engaging in black market trades

north korea values

party army state to party state army

juche

elf-reliance, emphasizes independence and sovereignty as principles to guide the nation’s politics, economy, and defenses

songun

military first policy

typology of legitimate rule

traditional rule, charismatic rule, legal-rational rule

primogeniture monarchy

inheritance by eldest son

dynastic monarchy

inheritor is chosen and other members of royal family can remove their power and replace them

reigning monarchy

retaining the form, but not the power, of one-person rule.

ruling monarchy

retains the powers and form of one person rule

presidential monarchy

cases where a dictatorial president has formally or informally become a President for life

autogolpe

self-coup by an elected president who then rules as dictator

veto players

the political players whose consent is necessary to change policy

performance legitimacy

lose legitimacy through ‘performance failures’,
such as illegal actions, economic downturns and even disorder andviolence

ideological legitimacy

the practiced ideology provides the reasoning behind rule

patrimonialism

the right to rule is intrinsic (a possession of the ruler) rather than extrinsic (provided by the subjects) - this domination is traditional. relies on providing goods for loyalty.

sultanism

loyalty to the ruler is motivated
not by his embodying or articulating an ideology, nor by a unique personal
mission, nor by any charismatic qualities, but by a mixture of fear and rewards
to his collaborators.

rentier state

derive a large fraction of revenues and therefore government power from external rents i.e sale of a natural resource to other governments

dummy variable

is one that takes only the value 0 or 1 to indicate the absence or presence of some categorical effect that may be expected to shift the outcome

rentier effect

suggests that resource rich governments use low tax rates and patronage to relieve pressures for
greater accountability

repression effect

resource wealth slows democratization by enabling governments to boost their funding for internal security

modernization effect

growth based on the export of oil and minerals fails to bring about the social and cultural changes that tend to produce democratic government.

mitchells coal argument

coal mines created a powerful way for workers to hold those in power accountable to their demands because if they stopped working all industry would collapse bc of few coal production areas and few channels for transport

female subordination and literacy rates

low literacy rates indicate a lower esteem for females in society ; high male to female ratio indicates also lower esteem for girls due to the implications of health issues and infanticide

motive for military coup

self proclaimed goal; national interest; sectional interest (class, ethnic/religious/corporate); individual self interest

military rule; means

threatening a coup or acting on a coup; method and capacity to use it. corporate coup = full capacity

positive factors of military opportunity

civilian authorities have been discredited and/or the military has had to have been used for internal purposes

negative opportunity factors military

elite paramilitary units, legitimacy, fear of failure

western leverage

international pressure for democratization on weak states

single party motive

ideological and organizational self interest (Maintaining org extracts benefits for you)

single party means

electoral usurpation (Rare) and revolutionary seizure

single party opportunity

weakening incumbent, war of liberation, taking advantage of decolonization political vacuum

single party acquiring v defending privleges

acquiring = revolution defending = military

process tracing method

causal chain of events of how regime acquired power and maintains it.

shambaugh 5 points single party for collapse

economic elite fleeing china
increased political repression
false party loyalty
corruption
forecasted economic slowdown

shirk single party against collapse

importance of new middle class
media shaping and control
xingpings control of major party levers
security

inhibitors to single party

Support for democracy
Competition with other more popular parties or internal competition
Once established you can still have breakdowns of morale within the party

feckless pluralism

elections are free but cyclical i.e incoming party undoes what previous party in power did