Comparative Politics Unit 2 Study Guide

Authoritarianism

A political system in which a small group of individuals exercises power without accountability to the public.

Selectorate Theory

All leaders are motivated by the desire to gain and maintain office, and must distribute goods to their winning coalition to ensure they stay loyal. If members do not get enough, they will defect to a challenger (vote for someone else)

Electoral Authoritarianism

A regime that holds elections that are not fully free or fair but retains some elements of electoral competition. Also called the “messy middle”

Personalist Regimes

A single individual directs policy and controls access to political posts. No autonomous institutions exist

Military Regimes

A type of government where military officers collaboratively hold power and drive policy decisions, often emerging from coups.

Electoral Laws

Regulations that govern how votes are counted and how electoral processes are conducted, impacting representation in democracies

Populism

A political ideology that divides society into two groups, the pure people and 'the corrupt elite, often leading to authoritarian governance

Party-Based Regimes

A single party controls access to political posts and shapes policy, preventing consolidation of power in the hands of one leader

Public Goods

Resources that are available for everyone to consume without competition

Private Goods

Benefits that are only distributed to members of the winning coalition in an authoritarian regime

Hybrid Regimes

Countries that exhibit characteristics of both democratic and authoritarian governance, often manipulating electoral processes

Executive Aggrandizement

A political executive increases its power at the expense of other branches of government

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor one party over another, impacting the fairness of elections

Winning Coalition

The subset of the selectorate whose support is needed for a leader to stay in power

Selectorate

Set of people who can play a role in selecting the leader

Electoral Autocracy (Hybrid Regime)

Systems where leaders take advantage and manipulate institutions to ensure they win an election and retain power. “I’ll do as I please to win an election”

Illiberal Democracy (Hybrid Regime)

Leaders may win an election through a competitive election but then start doing things out of order after. “After winning elections, I do as I please”

Campaign Advantages in Autocracies

Factors that give one candidate an edge over others in elections, such as funding, media coverage, and established networks.

Electoral Laws in Autocracies

Rules governing the conduct of elections that may be manipulated by autocratic regimes to control outcomes and limit genuine competition.

Barriers to Candidate Entry in Autocracies

Obstacles that prevent opposition candidates from running in elections, including strict registration requirements, legal challenges, and intimidation tactics.

Modernization Theory Reversed

The hypothesis that modernization is uneven and causes instability. As societies develop economically, this instability can cause a decline in democratic governance and an increase in authoritarianism.

What is the general theory of autocratic survival?

Autocracies are threatened by rebellion, organized resistance from oppositional elites, and splits in ruling elite. Thus, all autocracies must gain loyalty through a legitimizing basis, repression, co-optation, personality cults, etc.

Three Pillars of Survival Theory

Legitimation, Repression, and Co-optation

The “Legitimizing Idea” - explain to me why you deserve your power!

An authority must provide a rationale or justification for its claim to power and governance, often appealing to ideology, tradition, or popular support.

What is the strategic logic of a personality cult?

Leader generates obedience from citizens through propaganda, forced displays of loyalty, and suppressing opposition

Repression

Actual or threatened physical violence against individuals or groups, designed to impose a cost and deter specific activities

Costs of Repression

Increases odds that isolated acts of resistance will escalate

Shifts in the Mechanics of Repression in the 21st Century

Changes in methods and strategies used by authoritarian regimes to suppress opposition and maintain control over populations in the modern era

Co-Optation

Authoritarian regimes give people a stake in the survival of the regime, through benefits or positions of power for example. This ensures their loyalty by making it their best interest to support the system rather than challenge it

Co-Opting Regime Insiders with Institutions

Power sharing institutions are tools to share power and deliver needed concessions to regime insiders. A credible way of institutionalizing access to resources, influence, opportunities, and allows regime insiders to hold the dictator (leader) accountable

Co-Opting Opposition Elites and Citizens with Elections

A strategy used by authoritarian regimes to maintain control by allowing limited competition in elections, thus creating the illusion of democratic processes while undermining genuine opposition.

Military Coup D’etat As a Source of Most Autocracies Post WWII

Presence of military coup’s has declined since earlier reverse waves of democracy following WWI and WWII in the 1970s

Military Coup D’etat

The overthrow of a government by a small group of the military, using force or the threat of force.

How Democracies Die in the 21st Century - “Death By a Thousand Cuts”

Erodes slowly and incrementally. No singular event, the accumulation of multiple events over time. Legalistic, internal process

Democratic Backsliding vs. Autocratization

Erosion of democracy but still a democracy vs. transitioning from democracy back to authoritarianism

Elements of Autocratization (Haggard & Kaufman Model)

Factors that contribute to the transition from democracy to authoritarianism, including weakening institutions, polarization, increased repression, co-optation of elites, and manipulation of elections.

How did military coups cause an increase in autocratization, and how did their presence decline? (Ex: Cold War)

Increase in autocratization, indicating a shift toward more authoritarian practices, supported by Cold War powers. Over time, no longer had the traditional overthrow of governments by military forces. Authoritarism evolved into non-military forms such as electoral manipulation and media control rather than relying on military force.

Compatability of Populism with Autocratization

Populism pits "the people" against "the elites," weakening democratic institutions and supporting leaders who undermine democracy, leading to autocratization.

Globalization of Autocratization

Autocratization is spreading to liberal democratic regimes once seen as consolidated, like Hungary, Poland, Italy, and Greece because of economic troubles and integration problems

What do these trends imply about the consolidation of democracy?

These trends imply that authoritarian persistence, selectorate theory, legitimacy, and weak institutions hinder democratic consolidation. Factors like elite survival and control of resources slow the transition to stable democracies.

China As a “Party Autocracy”

No elections held, so no elections to lose. Clever mix of co-optation, repression, and highly adaptable institutions

How do China and Mexico differ under the PRI regarding camouflaging their regime with institutions and functions of a democratic system?

China has no attempt to camouflage its one-party dictatorship, while Mexico under the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) camouflaged its authoritarian regime through democratic institutions and elections

Party-State / Duplication / Parallel Organization

In China, the Communist Party and state institutions overlap, with the same people holding roles in both. Power flows from the top down

Methods of Institutionalization in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Norm-bound succession (leaders serve two consecutive terms), meritocracy (bureaucrats are promoted based on performance), separation of party and business (CCP does not directly manage business enterprise), selective repression

How do party-regimes collapse?

Fail to adapt or manage stability, dissent, and institutionalization

Transformation of Repression and Co-optation in China

Balances selective repression (resorting to violence when needed, but not commonly) with controlled “input institutions”, allowing limited participation while maintaining tight control over political power

China’s Economic Trends (over the last several decades, and the last several years)

Post-Mao China is a high-performing autocracy with political stability, economic growth, public services, and policy innovations, accomplished with a different form of “institutionalization”

Xi Jingping’s Impact on Norm Succession, Institutionalization

Leader removed party regime and became personalist, removing law of norm-bound succession where each leader served 2 consecutive terms

China As a Personalist Autocracy

Post-Mao China is a high-performing autocracy, emphasizing political stability and economic growth

Head of State vs. Head of Government

Symbol of the nation vs. running the country’s administration

Formal, Partisan, and Informal Powers

Formal powers are institutionalized by law, while partisan and informal powers are derived from party affiliation and personal connections

Presidential Systems: Key Traits, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Forms of executive power defined by separate elections, and separate survival of executive and legislative branches. Difficult for single person to dominate, but then electoral authority is fragmented

“Separate” Survival and Elections

Executive power defined by separate elections and separate survival of executive and legislative branches. Ex: If you voted in November, you voted for a President and a member of Congress. Your choices are independent of each other, for example, a Democratic President and a Republican member of House of Representatives

“European Model” of Democracy

Emphasizes parliamentary systems, multi-party systems, and a focus on rights and freedoms.

How does the government in a parliamentary system form?

Formed by the party or coalition with a majority in the legislature

Parliamentary Systems: Key Traits, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Parliamentary systems combine executive and legislative powers, ensuring majority rule but possibly leading to instability

Indirect Election

Voters elect representatives who then choose leaders

Cabinets and Ministerial Portfolios

Groups of ministers appointed to manage different areas of government

Prime Ministers Question Time

Lead the executive branch in a parliamentary system

Vote of Confidence

Parliamentary support for the government

Snap Election

Any election that occurs before the regular expiration, often to resolve a political crisis

Shadow Cabinets

An informal group of opposition party members of parliament who are responsible for understanding everything that is going on in a particular ministry. Ex: minister of finance has a shadow minister of finance

Single Party Majority Government (Features and Consequences)

Controls all key decisions, often ensuring stability but limiting diversity

Party Discipline

Coalitions

Temporary but formal agreements between parties to pool votes together, in order to form a government

Models of Coalition Formation (Minimum Winning, Minimum Connected, etc)

Formed with the minimum number of parties needed to achieve a majority or with the most ideologically compatible partners.

Grand Coalitions

A single coalition government formed by the unity of the two largest parties, often centrist, typically to ensure stability in times of crisis or when no party holds a clear majority

Semi-Presidential Systems

System combining a president with a prime minister, balancing executive power

Why does repression work?

Increases cost of opposing regime, reduces collective action (especially popular protest), and overall lowers the risk of collapse