ps0300-- authoritarian regimes, regime transitions

selectorate theory

theory stating all governments fit into a two-dimensional institutional space

selectorate

the people who can play a role in selecting the government/the leader

1st dimension

(selectorate theory) the size of the selectorate

2nd dimension

(selectorate theory) size of winning coalition

disenfranchised

residents who don’t have the legal right to participate in choosing the government

winning coalition

people whose support is necessary for the leader to stay in power

loyalty norm

extent of the winning coalition’s loyalty to the leader; strength determined by winning coalition/selectorate (probability a member of selectorate will be the winning coalition)

authoritarian regimes

regimes based on submission to authority and characterized by ruling elites, limited political pluralism, centralized political control, intolerance of opposition, and human rights violations

monarchic dictatorship

dictatorship in which the executive holds power on the basis of family and kin networks; wields absolute power w/ minimal interference of small gov. institutions; different from constitutional monarchy

• typically more stable form of authoritarianism

monarchic culture

1. clear rules defining insiders and outsiders of regime

2. tend to have rules/norms indicating how regime rents are to be shared among family

3. institutions allowing members of family in power to monitor actions of monarch/enforce norms

military dictatorship

effective head of gov. is a current/past member of armed forces; leaders rule as part of “junta”'; threat to stability is military; tend to have short duration/end w negotiation; credible threat to exit

junta

(military dictatorship) high ranking vs low ranking officers

civilian dictatorship

authoritative head of government is NOT a current/past member of armed forces

dominant party dictatorship

(civilian dictatorship) single party dominates access to political office and control over policy, though other parties may exist and compete in elections; susceptible to factionalism, opposition parties; attempts of electoral fraud and to co-opt minority factions

personalist dictatorship

leader (often supported by party or military) retains personal control of policy decisions and the selection of regime personnel; characterized by weak/nonexistent press, secret police apparatus, arbitrary use of state violence

dictator’s dilemma

dictatorship relies on repression, but repression creates incentives for citizens to falsify their preference so dictator never knows true level of societal support

cult of personality

used to gauge true level of societal support through finding point at which population is no longer willing to publicly accept “incredible” claims

electoral authoritarian regime

regime in which leaders hold elections/tolerate some pluralism and interparty competition, but violate minimal democratic norms so severely and systematically that they cannot be considered democracies

politically closed authoritarian regime

regime in with opposition’s party is granted no legal space in political arena

hegemonic electoral regime

regime in which leader’s party routinely wins with overwhelming majorities

competitive authoritarian regime

regime in which opposition parties win substantial minorities in elections

corruption

abuse of office for private gains; electoral fraud, giving bribe, influence peddling, patronage, nepotism, embezzlement, kickbacks

waves of democratization

approaches: level of democracy, net transitions, linkages

level of democracy

(waves of democratization) number/percentage of states that are democratic; rating states on a democratic scale and taking the mean

net transitions

(waves of democratization) examines movement to and away from democracy

linkages

(waves of democratization) regional focus, examines diffusion and demonstrative effects of democratization

first wave of democratization

1828-1926

first reverse wave of democratization

1922-1942

second wave of democratization

1943-1962

second reverse wave

1958-1975

third wave of democratization

1974-

bottom-up democratic transition

when the people rise up to overthrow an authoritarian regime in a popular revolution

top-down democratic transitition

when the dictatorial ruling elite introduces liberalizing reforms that ultimately lead to a democratic transition

liberalization

controlled opening of the political space (ex. formation of political parties, holding elections, writing a constitution, establishing a judiciary, opening a legislature)

consolidation

widespread acceptance of the new system, supported by evidence that it works

collective action theory

pursuit of some objective (typically provision of a public good) by a group of individuals

public good

good that is nonexcludable and nonrivalrous

non-excludability

when no one can be excluded from consuming a good

non-rivalrous

when the consumption of a good by one individual does not reduce the amount available for other individuals

free-rider problem

individual members of a group often have little incentive to contribute to the provision of a public good that will benefit all members of the group

preference falsification

(collective action problem) not revealing one’s true preferences

revolutionary threshold

(tipping model) size of protest at which an individual is willing to participate

revolutionary cascade

(tipping model) one person’s participation triggers the participation of another person’s, etc. etc. etc.

soft-liners

prefer to liberalize and broaden the social base of the dictatorship to gain allies, strengthen their position against the hard-liners/manage opposition groups

hard-liner

satisfied with status quo