Wk 7: Competitive Authoritarianism

Competitive authoritarianism

A hybrid political culture with a competitive electoral system in which a single leader or party dominates. The government uses state power to defeat opposition and mobilize public opinion.

Linkage

Density of organizational, economic, and political ties with the West.

Leverage

Ability of Western states to pressure an external party to adopt policy.

Democratic consolidation vs. democratic transition

The process by which a new democracy matures, in a way that it becomes unlikely to revert to authoritarianism without an external shock, and is regarded as the only available system of government within a country VS the interval between two regimes.

Electoral authoritarianism

A name applied to situations in which authoritarian regimes nominally compete in elections.

Dominant party

A political party that manages to maintain consistent control of a political system through formal and informal mechanisms of power, with or without strong support from the population.

Dictator's dilemma

An authoritarian ruler's repression creates fear which then breeds uncertainty about how much support the ruler has.

United Russia

Main political party in Russia and supporter of Vladimir Putin.

Nashi

Russia's largest youth movement, organized mass marches in support of Putin, laid siege to Estonian embassy.