authoritarianism

dictatorship

any regime that fails the basic test of democracy, which is: are the executive and the legislature chosen in free and competitive elections?

military dictatorship

group of officers rules

single-party dictatorship

ruling party controls who gets ahead

personalist dictatorship

power sits with one person and those loyal to him

monarchic dictatorship

royal family rules

Svoliks measure features

how involved is the military, whether opposition parties are allowed, how leaders are selected

autocratization

move away from democracy

two conflicts of dictatorship

problem of control, problem of power-sharing

problem of control

regime vs the masses it rules

problem of power-sharing

dictator vs his own allies.

biggest threat to dictators

regime insiders. 2/3 of the removals

no referee

no independent courts, parliament or press to enforce deals at the top. A promise to share power can’t ever be believable

violence in the background

when deals break down, force settles things: a coup, an arrest, a killing

commitment problem

you can keep a promise, but nothing forces you to keep it, so others can’t rely on it

two kinds of autocracy

contested or established

contested autocracy

allies are still strong enough to check the dictator, and to remove him if he gets too greedy

established autocracy

the dictator has gathered so much power that allies can’t stop him. He rules more or less alone

co-optation

buy people off: jobs, contracts, money for loyal regions and groups

repression

police, prisions, surveillance, force

four kinds of political work

set limits of speech, make people complicit, isolate people, fill public space

set limits of speech

everyone learns what can’t be said in public

makes people complicit

If you engage in the states publicity tactics, you helped the system keep going

isolates people

everyone privately doubts, but no one can be sure others do too, or act on it together

fills public space

little room is left for other ideas, symbols or ways on talking about politics

comedy as resistance

a joke breaks the rule of acting as if. A shared laugh shows people they are not alone, and cracks the isolation

case for the safety valve

some comedy was officially allowed. People blow off steam, feel better, and go home. Nothing changes

why a regime survives according to Svolik

because the ruler holds his coalition together

why a regime survives according to Wedeen

because people act as if they believe in it