Abstract
An emerging body of literature views authoritarian elections as an institutional tool utilized by ruling elites to sustain power. However, like a double-edged sword, elections may also destabilize authoritarian regimes and trigger the process of democratization. How do authoritarian rulers make sure elections serve their purposes? What electioneering mechanisms do they employ to engineer electoral victory? Do electoral institutions matter in single-party regimes? Based on intensive fieldwork, this article will lay out for the first time a menu of controlling strategies and tactics deployed in China’s direct congressional elections. Drawing on these mechanics allows local electoral authorities to play by the rules as they manufacture electoral certainties for the Communist Party. Furthermore, the political logic of ‘socialist democracy’ and its operationalization in local congressional elections will also be discussed. A closer look at the micro-level dynamics of authoritarian elections may help develop our understanding of why there has been a mixed record of ‘democratization by elections’.
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