Non-democratic Rule Research Articles

Dynamics of regime personalization and patron–client networks in Russia, 1999–2014

Many comparative scholars classify personalist regimes as a distinct category of nondemocratic rule. To measure the process of regime personalization, and to distinguish such a process from overall authoritarian reversal, is difficult in comparative context. Using the Russian political regime in 1999–2014 as a case study, we examine the dynamics of regime personalization over time. Relying on original data on patron–client networks and expert surveys assessing the policy influence of the key members of the ruling coalition, we argue that having more clients, or clients who are more powerful, increases the power of patrons – and that where the patron is the ruler, the resulting measure is an indication of the level of personalization of the regime. We trace regime personalization from the changes in political influence of the president's associates in his patron–client network versus that of other elite patron–client networks. We find that as early as 2004, the Russian regime can be regarded as personalist, and is strongly so from 2006 onward.

Commitment to local autonomy in non-democracies: Russia and China compared

The aim of this paper is to investigate under which conditions non-democratic political regimes are capable of making credible commitments to maintain a certain level of local autonomy and to incentivize local bureaucrats. For this purpose, we compare two big non-democratic countries—Russia and China. While China has managed to establish a relatively stable system, with substantial decision-making rights resting with sub-national governments, in Russia relations between the center and the regions have been highly unstable and driven primarily by the extent to which central elites consolidated their power. We argue that China has been able to make credible commitments because its non-democratic rule is based on competition between vertical elite networks that span regional and central political arenas, and because the country has limited access to natural resources: these two characteristics explain the difference between the two cases we investigate.

Constituency Service Under Nondemocratic Rule: Evidence from China

Why do nondemocratic regimes provide constituency service? This study develops theory based on a national field audit of China's Mayor's Mailbox, an institution that allows citizens to contact local political officials. Analyzing government responses to over twelve hundred realistic appeals from putative citizens, we find local service institutions in China are comparably responsive to similar institutions in democracies. Two key predictors of institutional quality are economic modernization and the intensity of local social conflict. We explain these findings by proposing a demand-driven theory of nondemocratic constituency service; in order to sustain the informational benefits of citizen participation, service institutions must increase responsiveness to citizen demand. We then offer supplementary evidence for this theory by analyzing the content of real letters from citizens to local officials in China.

Comparing autocracies: theoretical issues and empirical analyses

A quarter of the world's nation states and territories are ruled by dictators. Moreover, there are many regimes in which democratic and autocratic elements of rule are mixed in various ways. It thus behoves political scientists to study the trajectories, manifestations and perspectives of non-democratic rule in general and autocratic rule in particular. After a period of stagnation, research on autocracies has in recent years become revitalized. Much of this research has a comparative orientation and a range of global datasets that have become available, which enable the systematic testing of hypotheses. Yet, current research on autocracies goes beyond large-N studies. It is a pluralistic enterprise, characterized by the use of a multitude of theoretical, analytical and methodological approaches, lenses and tools. This special issue attempts to fill some gaps in the newer literature by addressing questions of legitimation and repression (as well as co-optation) in autocracies, by probing into the origins of a number of competitive authoritarian regimes and into pre-electoral dynamics in non-democracies, and by finally asking what happens to dictators once autocratic regimes fall.

Durable authoritarianism in the Arab Spring

Large popular protests against non-democratic rule swept much of the Middle East during the Arab Spring. Why did non-violent and armed rebellions emerge in some countries, but not in others? Why did some autocrats fall from power under pressure 'from below', but not others? Theoretical debates on the impact of structural and institutional factors on the stability of political regimes and democratization suggest possible avenues for research. Oil wealth empowered some autocrats to avoid large popular protests and helped others to weather them out without major problems. Huge profits from oil exports reduced demands for political representation, enabled autocrats to 'buy' loyalty of their population and strengthened the repressive apparatus, as well as the readiness of its members to use force against their political opponents. In addition, the survival of Arab monarchies, and of the Algerian regime, suggests that authoritarian regimes are more stable than sultanist (personalist) ones. The broader social base of authoritarianism and resulting regime coalitions, and strong political institutions, reduced the pool for recruitment of protesters and made a firm government response possible. Sultanistic regimes, by contrast, faced existential threat because of highly unpopular personalist rule and dynastic tendencies, narrow social base, widespread corruption and ineffective rule.

A Long, Brown Shadow? The Impact of Non-Democratic Legacies on the Environment in Portugal and Bulgaria

Legacies of non-democratic rule influence and direct many decisions and actions within democratising political systems as institutions, procedures and policies are reformed. This article is concerned with the effect of legacies on environmental politics in democratising states. Democratic political systems are better equipped to address environmental concerns than their non-democratic counterparts; democratisation is therefore expected to lead to improvements. To assess the effect of non-democratic legacies the cases of Portugal and Bulgaria have been selected, as they experienced different forms of non-democratic rule, identifying general outcomes. The results indicate that democratisation does lead to improvements in environmental politics, with the extent and course of change being mediated by the legacy of the preceding political system.

Defending Democracy: Reactions to Extremism in Interwar Europe

Defending Democracy: Reactions to Extremism in Interwar Europe. By Giovanni Capoccia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. 352p. $49.95.This study elaborates a central aspect of Juan Linz's (1978) Crisis, Breakdown, and Re-equilibration: a focus on choices made by democratic incumbents facing extremist challengers aiming to install nondemocratic rule. To put it in Linzian terms, Giovanni Capoccia seeks to develop Linz's “mentality” on that subject into a more systematic statement. Linz claimed that these leaders' choices are crucial, and he illustrated with examples; Capoccia rightly proposes that such a claim deserves monographic treatment in its own right. His effort is illuminating on several counts but falls short of full persuasiveness on others.

Generating Reforms and Reforming Generations: Military Politics in Indonesia's Democratic Transition and Consolidation

This article examines the importance of the internal structural dynamics of the military in the analysis of transitions from nondemocratic rule and in democratic consolidation. The authors argues that factors endogenous to the military—including variations in the size of the officer corps, solidarity among graduating classes from the military academy, and promotional prospects—are important determinants of the political behavior of militaries. As a case study, military structure and politics during Indonesia's recent transition from nondemocratic rule and current consolidation of democracy are explored in detail. While the ongoing interaction between civilians and the military is acknowledged, systematic structural features are identified as being important for understanding the behavior of the Indonesian military between 1998 and 2001. The authors compare and contrast the study of Indonesia with other cases in the literature on transitions—including Ghana, Nigeria, Portugal, and Thailand—and discuss resulting implications for the study of transitions and consolidations.

Keeping Out the Internet? Non-Democratic Legitimacy and Access to the Web

Non-democratic and democratic regimes alike have been attracted to the promise of the global information superhighway. However, the Internet contains a number of features which are potentially damaging to the legitimacy of incumbent non-democratic governments. The scope and ease of obtaining information on the World Wide Web provides the means for undermining one of the central pillars of non-democratic rule: centralized control over the domestic distribution of information and ideas. Furthermore, the communication capabilities available to Internet users assists in the creation of autonomous "public spaces" which can threaten the political preeminence of non-democratic authorities. Unfortunately for skittish regimes, designing solutions to the make cyberspace "safe" for public use in order to preempt internal challenges to state authorities are hampered by the fact that the features which cause problems for non-democratic rulers are the same attributes which make the technology so attractive. I will examine several countries' history with the Internet, with particular attention paid to China, to illustrate the attractions of the Internet and the lengths to which officials have gone to make this technology politically reliable.

The Radical Subject: Social Change and the Self in Recent German Autobiography by Andrew Plowman (review)

its 'trap';moreover, he is criticalof a failureto differentiatebetween variousforms of non-democratic rule. Despite the undeniable importance of the political dimension, it would be onesidedto concentrateonly on thispartof Miller's writing.Her originaland powerful use of language is visible in the original texts: ten short poetic pieces that were initially intended to accompany collages. The use of simile is particularly remarkable:cars in the night are 'wie gltihende Zimmer';as a cross around a taxidriver 'sneck moves around, 'kommtJesus Iins Wankenwie eine Mausefalle'.The text beginning 'im Federhauswohnt ein Hahn', which contains a compound noun including 'Haus' in each of the firstfive lines, is particularlypowerful as it conjures up a sense of constrictionthat, given the fifthline 'im Eckhaus- die Patrouille',has to be linkedwith Muller'sown experiences. In fact, the definingfeatureof herwork is the way she has developed an individual style out of writing on the basis of her biographical experiences. In the interview she uses the term 'autofiktional' to describeherwork:it is fictionalyet at the same time based on her own life. Moreover, in parallel with her rejection of all-embracing political systems, she concentrates on detail as part of an aesthetic strategythat leads Brigid Haines, in the title of her clear and informativeessay, to characterizeher work as the 'micropolitics of resistance'.The linkbetween aestheticsand politics is also made clear in RicardaSchmidt'sessay'Metapher,Metonymie undMoral.HertaMillers Herztier'. InterestinglySchmidtdetectsa tendencytowardshomogenityin theuseofmetaphor that seems to mirrorthe dubiousequation of political systemsdetected by White. Two of the three remaining essaysnot referredto so far deal with the themes of memory (David Midgley)and morality(Dagmarvon Hoff). The third,by Margaret Littler, is a comparative study of the theme of the city in Muller's and Libuse Monikova'snovels. In a most incisivepiece of writingLittlershowshow, in keeping with post-modern thinking,for Miller the city is a 'diffuseand contradictory'place offeringspace to the individual, not least to women, as they seek to maintain their identity. This contrastsnot only with Monikova but also with Nineteen Eighty-Four, where Smith and Julia have to leave the city for their trystsif they are to hope to escape the notice of'Big Brother'. Finally,it should be noted that the bibliographicalsection of the volume restricts itself to the period I99 -98, building on previous bibliographies.It rounds off an excellent volume that fulfils its aim and that of the series by providing both an overviewand high-qualitymaterialfor the specialist. UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND STUART PARKES TheRadical Subject: SocialChange andtheSelfinRecent German Autobiography. ByANDREW PLOWMAN. (Britishand IrishStudiesin German Languageand Literature,13) Bern, New York,and Frankfurta.M.: Lang. 1998. i68 pp. I7. In his introduction Andrew Plowman berates the reluctance of studies of New Subjectivity to address aesthetic questions and the tensions inherent in autobiography . He is equally critical of the general neglect by those critics focusing on autobiographyof social and political issues, and is thereforehimself determined to situatehis chosen texts in the historicalmoment of theirproduction, and to explore the significanceof that specificcontext for the discourseof autobiography.He does this in relationto five texts, allwrittenin the late I96os and 1970S,the firstof which is Bernward Vesper's Die Reise.Plowman argues that Marcuse and Reich are of central importance to this book, acting as the foundation for Vesper's criticismof post-warWestGerman societyand enablinghim to narratehis transformationfrom its 'trap';moreover, he is criticalof a failureto differentiatebetween variousforms of non-democratic rule. Despite the undeniable importance of the political dimension, it would be onesidedto concentrateonly on thispartof Miller's writing.Her originaland powerful use of language is visible in the original texts: ten short poetic pieces that were initially intended to accompany collages. The use of simile is particularly remarkable:cars in the night are 'wie gltihende Zimmer';as a cross around a taxidriver 'sneck moves around, 'kommtJesus Iins Wankenwie eine Mausefalle'.The text beginning 'im Federhauswohnt ein Hahn', which contains a compound noun including 'Haus' in each of the firstfive lines, is particularlypowerful as it conjures up a sense of constrictionthat, given the fifthline 'im Eckhaus- die Patrouille',has to be linkedwith Muller'sown experiences. In fact, the definingfeatureof herwork is the way she has developed an individual style out of writing on the basis of her biographical experiences. In...

The Structural Determinants of Democratic Consolidation

Democratic consolidation is the process by which a newly established democratic regime becomes sufficiently durable that a return to nondemocratic rule is no longer likely. The authors examine a wide range of structural factors that may affect democratic consolidation in Third World countries, using three indicators of consolidation and multivariate statistical techniques. The authors' main finding is that development-related socioeconomic factors, the contagion effect of democratic neighbors, and high inflation each strongly affect the likelihood of consolidation, although the latter was significant only in the early part of the period studied. Several other factors have no apparent effect, including several measures dealing with political culture and the design of democratic institutions. These three factors together strongly predict which Third World democracies achieve consolidation, suggesting that the process-centric literature on democratic consolidation has paid inadequate attention to the effects of structural factors.

Beyond Environmental Scarcity: Causal Pathways to Conflict

A great deal of recent writing has indicated that growing scarcities of renewable resources can contribute to conflict. Most of this research, however, suffers from two major methodological weaknesses: lack of variation in the independent and dependent variables, and the absence of control for other conflict-generating factors. As one of the first large- N studies of the relationship between environmental degradation and domestic armed conflict, this article takes on these challenges. On the basis of a multivariate analysis for all countries in the period 1980-92 we test and confirm the hypotheses (as indicated from various case-studies) that factors like deforestation, land degradation, and scarce supply of freshwater, alone and in combination with high population density, increase the risk of domestic armed conflict, especially low-level conflict. This holds true also when we control for economic and political factors, such as level of economic development and type of political regime. The latter variables, however, prove more decisive than environmental scarcity in predicting the incidence of domestic armed conflict. The severity of such conflicts is better accounted for by military expenditure than by environmental degradation, poverty or non-democratic rule.

A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China, and the Challenges to Nondemocratic Rule

Can the Internet and nondemocratic rule coexist? A number of key features of the Internet can be corrosive to nondemocracies. In particular, the scope and ease of obtaining information on the Web, as well as the communication capabilities available to users, provide the means for undermining the pillars of nondemocratic rule. Furthermore, the decentralized nature of the Internet complicates the task of state control of the medium. Nevertheless, despite the risks that may exist from joining the global computer network, nondemocratic regimes have not shunned this technology because it promises to be the key to development, prosperity, and influence. However, their strategies of containment may prevent a complete usage of the capabilities of the Internet. The case of China illustrates the attractions of the Internet, the measures the ruling Chinese Communist Party has implemented to make this technology politically reliable, and the impact of these measures on the full use of the Internet.

A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China, and the Challenges to Nondemocratic Rule

A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China, and the Challenges to Nondemocratic Rule

Understanding Political Change After Authoritarian Rule: The Popular Sectors and Chile's New Democratic Regime

When Patricio Aylwin accepted the Chilean presidential sash in March 1990 an era in Latin American politics dominated by authoritarian regimes came to an end. Virtually every country in the region now had to grapple with the complicated task of consolidating fragile democratic regimes. Surprisingly, given what may be the emergence of a new democratic era, one is hardpressed even to begin answering an obvious question: How will years of non-democratic rule affect future efforts to establish democratic political processes in their wake? Despite recent attention to the ways in which different types of transition process affect the prospects for democracy, the impact of authoritarian rule on subsequent political processes remains largely unstudied.

Writing the Intifada Collective Action in the Occupied Territories

The five-year-old Palestinian uprising, the intifada, was the first of many mass mobilizations against nondemocratic rule to appear in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, East Asia, and the former Soviet Union between 1987 and 1991. Although the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is seldom included by the media or by social scientists in their treatments of this putative wave of “democratization,” many studies of the uprising are available. Although largely atheoretic in their construction of the intifada and in their explanations for it, the two general questions posed by most of these authors are familiar to students of collective action and revolution. On the one hand, why did it take twenty years for the Palestinians to launch the uprising? On the other hand, how, in light of the individual costs of participation and the negligible impact of any one person's decision to participate, could it have occurred at all? The work under review provides broad support for recent trends in the analysis of revolution and collection action, while illustrating both the opportunities and the constraints associated with using monographic literature as a data base.