Authoritarian Research Articles

Democratic self-determination and the need for deliberation

I offer in this paper a new conception of democratic self-determination. My proposal defends Rafanelli's peaceful reform intervention from the concern that we should not promote justice abroad, because it would interfere with the self-determining choice of other people to select an authoritarian government. I challenge this influential view of authoritarian self-determination. I argue instead that self-determination should be democratic in its input, or the procedure deliberating and voting on the constitution. Self-determination should also be democratic in its output, or the constitution's rules. Democratic self-determination offers three important advantages: it joins self-determination indivisibly with other inalienable human rights, such as the human right to racial non-discrimination. Second, it guards against the problem of the false mandate, or authoritarians attempting to legitimate their autocratic rule using rigged referenda and suppressed debate. Third, democratic self-determination reduces the risk of ethnic conflict given the diversity of actual states. Democratic self-determination passes the a ctual deliberation test, since it has been vindicated by inclusive deliberation with people from diverse cultures.

Beyond Order and Progress: Legitimacy and Nation-Building in Military Brazil

Abstract Between 1964 and 1985, a military dictatorship in Brazil combined an arsenal of political instruments—surveillance, violent repression, and propaganda, among others—to justify its illegal rule. How did the Brazilian military regime attempt to justify its claim to power for more than two decades? What discursive strategies did it use to win popular support, despite the violence it perpetrated? This paper investigates how discourse is used to legitimize power and create meaning in authoritarian regimes. Using ethnographic content analysis of archival materials, I pinpoint and analyze three key discursive frames employed in regime propaganda: “defenders of democracy,” “Great Brazil” and “model citizenship.” I argue that the Brazilian military regime used these frames to justify its authority, forge national values and social norms, and redefine the boundaries of the national community. These findings not only contribute to our understanding of authoritarian power that is wielded and legitimized through discourse, but also speak to the enduring consequences of authoritarianism in sociopolitical subjects.

Issues and Debates Surrounding the Cold War era in Africa

This paper examines the issues and debates surrounding the Cold War era in Africa, examining the impact of superpower rivalries on the political and social atmosphere of the continent. The research problem centers on understanding how Cold War politics impacted state-building processes and governance in African states. The primary objectives are to analyze the influence of U.S. and Soviet support on authoritarian regimes, assess the implications for human rights and democracy, and investigate the enduring legacy of these interventions in post-colonial Africa. The research argues that external interventions prioritized geopolitical interests over local sovereignty, fostering corruption and political instability. Utilizing historical methodology, the study relies on secondary sources, including books, journals, and online resources, to provide analysis. The findings reveal that Cold War patronage not only entrenched dictatorial regimes but also hindered the development of independent political institutions, leading to persistent challenges in governance. The paper concludes that understanding the implications of Cold War for Africa is germane for addressing contemporary issues of democracy, human rights, and development, emphasizing the need for a reassessment of external influences in influencing African political trajectories.

Perpetrators as Victims? Inclusivity and Proximity in Post-Genocide Cambodia and Rwanda

ABSTRACT In post-genocide Cambodia and Rwanda, low-level perpetrators often identify as victims of the genocidal regimes alongside those they tortured and killed. However, state and societal responses to these claims appear to have varied dramatically. In Cambodia, the government and civil society organizations seem to view former Khmer Rouge cadres’ claims to victim status as socially acceptable and politically useful, while in Rwanda, the government and civil society organizations have firmly rejected perpetrators’ efforts to claim space as victims. What accounts for these different societal responses in Cambodia and Rwanda? At present, there is ample literature on how authoritarian government actors in both contexts have shaped their nation’s post-genocide transitional justice responses to prevent future bloodshed, while simultaneously reinforcing their regimes’ sometimes tenuous political legitimacy. However, this article offers complementary insights by exploring two otherwise under-researched factors that we argue further inform these polar-opposite reactions to perpetrators’ claims to victim status: (1). post-genocide governments’ offers of inclusivity in defining who is part of each nation’s ideal post-genocide ingroup; and (2). the social proximity of perpetrators and their victims during and after the genocides. Our focus on inclusivity and social proximity related to the Cambodian and Rwandan genocide advances scholarly understandings of the various factors that shape government and social responses to perpetration in the aftermath of genocide internationally.

The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Arab Newsrooms: Potentials and Challenges

Arab newsrooms and journalists are still attempting to process how to benefit from using artificial intelligence (AI) in their daily news production. Many have started experimenting with generative AI. However, in countries with strong economies, or in newsrooms funded by strong economies like in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, news organizations have endorsed AI technologies beyond ChatGPT and similar tools. The majority of Arab journalists, however, are yet to understand what is meant by AI. Very few news organizations in the region have strategically approached the question of AI. Arab newsrooms need to examine when and why they need to use AI technologies, whether they have the infrastructure or can afford the resources. Implementing AI in Arab newsrooms presents an additional set of challenges, including language complexities, cultural sensitivities, potential biases in algorithms, and the need for tailored solutions that resonate with local audiences. The ethical implications present its own set of challenges. ChatGPT has proven to generate inaccurate data in Arabic. Resources are to be put in place to ensure the model is trained on a diverse and comprehensive dataset of Arabic text. Implementing bias detection and mitigation techniques to ensure the models are free from biases and offensive content is crucial. Newsrooms operating in authoritarian regimes have to be aware of governments' attempts to use generative AI to whitewash and promote state-centered actions and policies. Maintaining editorial integrity remains an important consideration.

Labor-inclusive corporatism after democratic transitions: Institutionalization in South Africa and Brazil

Abstract Under what conditions has corporatist policymaking become institutionalized in newly transitioned democracies? I argue that transitions have provided temporary opportunities for unions to push for laws they can later use to protect their place in economic councils. The relevant sets of legal rules, which I call compulsory deliberation, enable non-‘State official’ members to resist governmental disruption of such councils despite them composing the Executive’s structure. I compare South Africa and Brazil, two ‘most similar’ cases that featured sequences of chronically unstable labor-excluding councils under authoritarian regimes. I argue that the former broke out of this trajectory while the latter did not because South African unions developed aspirations for durable policy influence before the transition, whereas Brazilian ones only did so afterward and thus mobilized too late. Although Brazilian governments have enacted dozens of regulations covering as many councils, these have only served as short-term instruments for marketing policies.

Jordan’s Regime Security Under the COVID-19 Pandemic: Securitisation Against Visible and Invisible Threats

The Jordanian authoritarian regime, headed by the Hashemite royal family, has developed a robust regime security system. Having defeated the Arab Nationalists and Palestinian militias, the most significant threats in the Kingdom’s history, and achieved peace with Israel, the monarchy appears to have legitimised its sovereignty and domestic rule. Meanwhile, nonterritorial threats represented by jihadists have continued intermittently despite a surveillance network and continuous securitisation by authorities. Worryingly, decades-long employment problems and inflationary risks are chronic security risks in Jordan in the 21st century. This study examines how Jordan’s regime is functioning against new and old internal security risks during an unprecedented emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic. Under several lockdowns, the government could securitise prominent social forces including Islamists and professional associations for regulation violations. However, it needed to be more effective against the grassroots movement that continued to criticise the government while using cyberspace as its main battleground. Most critical cases, such as the 2021 uproar over former Crown Prince Hamza, primarily became virtual movements. The battle without winners and losers, fought using information and communication technologies from the perspective of digital authoritarianism by the government and liberation technology by resistance forces, posed a new challenge for Jordan’s regime security.

Why are ethno-territorial wars shorter under authoritarian regimes? War-fighting, cost-tolerance and negotiation mechanisms

The civil war (CW) duration literature sometimes finds that authoritarianism leads to shorter wars, and sometimes that regime type has no significant impact. Most commonly, authoritarian regimes (ARs) are expected to fight wars more effectively, thus ending wars earlier by military victory; but also to be more tolerant of war costs, and thus less likely to negotiate ends to wars. We also investigate whether ARs’ willingness to make substantive concessions to rebels – due to their lesser accountability – makes war-ending negotiations more likely. For theoretical and empirical reasons, we limit our universe of cases to the ethno-territorial type of CW and control for the effect of leadership preferences. Our results show that highly ARs tend to have shorter ethno-territorial wars and democracies longer ones; and that the concessions-constraint mechanism is the strongest and the war-costs-tolerance mechanism the weakest.

'Political Role in Journalism': Issues and Challenges in Nepal and Beyond

This paper examines the intricate connection between politics and journalism, highlighting the difficulties and effects of political influence on journalistic practices. The study shows, through a review of the, statement of problem, study of object and literature, that political beliefs have a major influence on media narratives, which frequently results in skewed reporting. The study is dependence of self-censorship, especially in authoritarian regimes. The crucial role that journalism plays in influencing public opinion and its consequences for democratic processes are also covered in this essay. It also draws attention to the difficulties that journalists encounter in politically delicate situations, such as censorship, physical threats, and legal constraints. The results highlight the necessity for journalistic independence and integrity to support democratic processes, as well as the dual role that media plays as a safeguard for democracy and a possible conduit for political influence. The study highlights the role that independent journalism plays in defending democratic norms in Nepal and notes the challenges that journalists confront in upholding impartiality and moral standards in the face of political polarization.

Status of Elderly People in Chandragiri Municipality of Kathmandu

This paper examines the intricate connection between politics and journalism, highlighting the difficulties and effects of political influence on journalistic practices. The study shows, through a review of the, statement of problem, study of object and literature, that political beliefs have a major influence on media narratives, which frequently results in skewed reporting. The study is dependence of self-censorship, especially in authoritarian regimes. The crucial role that journalism plays in influencing public opinion and its consequencesfor democratic processes are also covered in this essay. It also draws attention to the difficulties that journalists encounter in politically delicate situations, such as censorship, physical threats, and legal constraints. The results highlight the necessity for journalistic independence and integrity to support democratic processes, as well as the dual role that media plays as a safeguard for democracy and a possible conduit for political influence. The study highlights the role that independent journalism plays in defending democratic norms in Nepal and notes the challenges that journalists confront in upholding impartiality and moral standards in the face of political polarization.

People consistently view elections and civil liberties as key components of democracy.

How do people around the world define democracy? Answering this question is critical as countries face democratic backsliding and authoritarian governments promote alternative notions of democracy. Indeed, some scholars argue that people from different backgrounds understand democracy differently. By contrast, we discovered very consistent views about what constitutes a "democratic" country from conjoint survey experiments conducted in Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, Thailand, and the United States. Across countries (N = 6150) and diverse subgroups within countries, people similarly emphasized free and fair elections and civil liberties as being the key determinants of democracy. Countries that produce desirable social and economic outcomes are also considered more democratic, but these and other factors exert a smaller and less consistent effect than elections and civil liberties.

The Military Turn in Comparative Constitutional Law: Constitutions and the Military in Authoritarian Regimes

The Military Turn in Comparative Constitutional Law: Constitutions and the Military in Authoritarian Regimes

Abortion Law Illiberalism and Feminist Politics in Comparative Perspective

Since the 1970s, a liberal politics has dominated comparative abortion law, one almost too ubiquitous to name. This article tracks departures from liberal abortion law in Europe and the Americas that have reshaped the field of comparative abortion law. Section 2 examines the repurposing of liberal abortion law for illiberal ends in a conservative moment of authoritarian governments and their anti-gender campaigns. Drawing on larger ideas of autocratic legalism, the article analyzes how governments and courts have used the features of liberal abortion law to revoke or defeat abortion rights. Section 3 examines the counter-emergence of a feminist protest politics that has abandoned liberal abortion law in a democratic remaking of society and state. Today, in abortion lawmaking through democratized institutions and in the unmaking of abortion law through direct action, feminist movements are reclaiming comparative abortion law and its politics.

Authoritarianism and civil society: Legal restrictions on Human Rights CSOs

New types of authoritarian regimes attempt to create the illusion of democracy. They therefore seek to restrict the establishment and activities of CSOs not through outright bans, but through the adoption of laws and regulations designed to systematically and methodically impede the operation of human rights CSOs. This paper, based on empirical research, classifies and analyses the registration and re-registration procedures that restrict the freedom of association of human rights CSOs, as well as the legislation that imposes registration or re-registration requirements on organisations designated as “foreign agents.” Additionally, it assesses the proportion in which democratic and authoritarian regimes use these restrictive mechanisms. The results show that the restrictions examined are predominantly used in authoritarian regimes.

Political stability in authoritarian regimes: the case of Central Asia

ABSTRACT Existing research indicates that political stability is a prerequisite for good governance and economic development in Central Asia. All five countries in the region are authoritarian regimes but it is unclear which factors impact on political stability. Using data for the period 2002–2022, this paper examines the variables which make a significant contribution to political stability and finds that the rule of law, personalist rule, a free media, freedom of assembly, political polarization and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, respectively have a positive effect on political stability while government accountability, exclusions by social group and civil society participation have a negative effect. Some of the findings are at odds with other studies on autocratic regimes, illustrating the importance of geo-political context.

Local Meanings of Peace: The Politics of Words and Emotional Labor among Civil Society Practitioners in Armenia and Turkey

Abstract Despite their long-lasting work in Armenia and Turkey, peacebuilding practitioners of civil society have an ambivalent relationship with the term peace and refrain from defining their role as peacebuilders. Informed by the anthropological research adopting the local turn in peace and conflict studies, we explore how civil society practitioners in Armenia and Turkey perceive the concept of “peace” (խաղաղություն or khaghaghutyun in Armenian and barış in Turkish) and how they position themselves regarding the meanings they attach to this term. In this paper, we present data collected through semi-structured interviews with civil society practitioners from both countries, investigating the perceptions and practices in the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. We found that the flexibility of the term normalization in comparison to peacebuilding is preferred among civil society practitioners working for the Armenia-Turkey dialogue. We also show that the political context shapes local meanings of the word peace. While in Turkey, the authoritarian regime, restrictions on NGOs, and rise of ultranationalism make open advocacy for peace with Armenia difficult and risky, the war with Azerbaijan firmly structures where and how the word peace can be used in Armenia – even though it is not clear what is meant by it in either case. Finally, our research points out a neglected aspect of professionalism in this context and shows how it requires emotional labor to suppress enthusiasm and hope for peace. We close our paper with a call for further research among the youth and exploration of effective communication, alternative approaches, and terminologies that can foster meaningful dialogue and reconciliation without provoking divisive sentiments.

Aktivisme, Budaya Populer, dan Media: Paradigma Protes terhadap Three Finger Salute dalam Berita Reuters

This study investigates the framing and presences of the protest paradigm in Reuters' coverage of activism events in Southeast Asia involving The Hunger Games' Three Finger Salute. In recent years, several protests in the region have adopted this salute as a means of expressing dissent against their respective governments. These diverse activisms not only attract media attention as political events but also signify interconnected political phenomena through a gesture inspired by popular narratives such The Hunger Games. Reuters, an international news agency, has shown a heightened interest in this phenomenon compared to other news agencies that focusing solely on political activities. While it is common for news reports to embody the protest paradigm when covering activism, Reuters' coverage specific focus on events involving the Three Finger Salute sets it apart. The protest paradigm highlights the media's tendency to depict social protests with a negative sentiment. Through text and framing analysis, this research delves into how Reuters selectively emphasizes certain aspects of these fan activisms. The findings reveal that Reuters framed the coverage of fan activisms around authoritarian government, youth and student, and royalist. Reuters also has negative sentiment and continues to perpetuate the protest paradigm.

Social work students’ perspectives on the future of human rights

ABSTRACT This study explores social work students’ perspectives on human rights in their practice, drawing on focus group interviews from universities in Germany, Poland, and the Philippines. Focus group discussions were coded using thematic content analysis based on an inductive approach in which themes emerge from the conversations between participants and the researchers and among themselves. It examines emergent themes on envisioning human rights’ future in social work, highlighting novel application approaches. The research underscores the necessity of incorporating human rights education, emphasizing respect, equality, and dignity, into social work curricula. Students discuss the evolving nature of societal norms and human rights, advocating for adaptive, culturally sensitive approaches to meet demographic and societal changes. The findings suggest a paradigm shift toward a more inclusive perspective that integrates environmental and collective rights, marking a significant move from traditional social work practices. Additionally, the research highlights the international political context, including the rise of authoritarian nationalism, which poses significant challenges to the advancement of human rights globally. This underscores the urgency for social work to act as a counter-movement in defense of human rights and democratic principles.

Queering Authoritarianism in Uganda: Dissident Sexualities and Tropical African [anti]-Aesthetics in Stella Nyanzi’s No Roses from my Mouth

In this article, I argue that queering female sexualities as ‘dissident sexualities’ Stella Nyanzi in her collection of prison poems, No Roses from My Mouth (2020), harnesses the aesthetics of radical rudeness (insults) through expressions of humor, innuendo, and anecdote grounded in the Baganda cultural repertoire, to critique President Yoweri Museveni’s authoritarian regime in Uganda. Her poetry draws attention to queer sexualities grounded in stylistics of dissent. Humor in the prison poems allows Nyanzi to develop an audacity that alludes to the authenticity of her queer consciousness. To this end, the article teases out how radical rude poetics, a corollary of tropical [anti]-aesthetics, affords Nyanzi a literary platform to manipulate pejorative imagery, libidinous metaphors, subversive phrases, and lewd expressions entrenched in humor as political protest. More evocatively, the article asserts that within the context of tropicality, radical rudeness as pan-Africa’s anti-aesthetic response to the Western (English) culture of politeness is focused upon in No Roses from My Mouth as a literary fuse that expands tropical aesthetic’s critique of colonialism/postcolonialism in Africa to poetically confront authoritarianism in Uganda.

The conflict within: the politics of parliamentary election management in Iran

ABSTRACT Scholars of comparative politics have long been interested in understanding conflicts that arise among elites within authoritarian contexts. Such conflicts are particularly puzzling when they occur in the context of authoritarian elections and within state administrative institutions like the electoral management body (EMB). Using previously unanalysed primary sources provided by Iran’s Ministry of Interior, which document the inner workings of Iran’s 2000 parliamentary election management, this study investigates intra-elite conflict associated with this important election. I found that within the dual EMB structure, where elected and unelected members coexist, elected administrative members can access information on irregular activities by unelected members more than those outside of this body. These information resources encourage elected members to take the risk of accusing more powerful elites – the unelected members of the regime – of electoral fraud. This is particularly evident during the reformist (moderate opposition) Presidency. My findings suggest the importance of examining intra-elite conflict within administrative institutions – EMBs – for a better understanding of political contestation within otherwise opaque authoritarian regimes.