Authoritarian Elections: State of Literature and Research Problems
https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2022-3-41-57
Abstract
The article provides an overview of current research on elections in authoritarian political regimes. For this purpose, a number of significant papers on this issue have been selected, published in peer-reviewed academic journals with a high impact-factor. The assessment of the significance of the works was made primarily on the basis of their citation indicators according to Scopus and Google Scholar. It is stated that despite the rapid growth in the number of works on authoritarian elections over the past two decades, it is still far from building a comprehensive theory in this area. The review focuses on the question of how elections affect the survival of authoritarian regimes. In this regard, conflicting positions are presented in the literature. On the one hand, elections are seen as instruments for stabilization of authoritarian rule, on the other hand — as sources of instability, and on the third — as levers of democratization.
About the Author
Yu. S. Medvedev
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (North-West Institute of Management of RANEPA)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Yury S. Medvedev, Associate Professor of the Chair of Comparative Political Studies of the Faculty of International Relations and Politics
Saint Petersburg
References
1. Medvedev Yu.S. Why do autocrats need elections? Political science about the role of elections in authoritarianism // Comparative Politics Russia. 2020. V. 11. N. 4. P. 189–200 (in Rus).
2. Medvedev Yu.S. Concept of competitive authoritarianism and its criticism in scientific literature // Politeia. 2021. N 1 (100). P. 154–169 (in Rus).
3. Baev P.K. A matrix for post-Soviet “color revolutions”: exorcising the devil from the details // International Area Studies Review. 2011. V. 14. N. 2. P. 3–22.
4. Barbera P. When Duverger Becomes Autocratic: Electoral Systems and Opposition Fragmentation in Non-Democratic Regimes. Working Paper, 2013 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://pablobarbera.com/static/duverger-becomes-autocratic.pdf (date of the address: 03.11.2021).
5. Beaulieu E. Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
6. Boix C., Svolik M. W. The Foundations of Limited Authoritarian Government: Institutions, Commitment, and Power-Sharing in Dictatorships // Journal of Politics. 2013. V. 75. N. 2. P. 300–316.
7. Brancati D. Democratic Authoritarianism: Origins and Effects // Annual Review of Political Science. 2014. V. 17. P. 313–326.
8. Brownlee J. Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
9. Brownlee J. Portents of Pluralism: How Hybrid Regimes Affect Democratic Transition // American Journal of Political Science. 2009. V. 53. N. 3. P. 515–532.
10. Bueno de Mesquita B. et al. The Logic of Political Survival. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003.
11. Bunce V. J., Wolchik S. L. Defeating Dictators: Electoral Change and Stability in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes // World Politics. 2010. V. 62. N. 1. P. 43–86.
12. Carnegie P. J. The Road from Authoritarianism to Democratization in Indonesia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
13. Carothers Т. End of the Transition Paradigm // Journal of Democracy. 2002. V. 13. N. 1. P. 5–21.
14. Cederman L.-E., Gleditsch K. S., Hug S. Elections and Ethnic Civil War // Comparative Political Studies. 2013. V. 46. N. 3. P. 387–417.
15. Chang E. C. C., Higashijima М. The choice of electoral systems in electoral autocracies // Government and Opposition. 2021.
16. Cox G. W. Making Votes Count. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
17. Dahl R. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1971.
18. Diamond L. Thinking about Hybrid Regimes // Journal of Democracy. 2002. V. 13. N. 2. P. 21–35.
19. Donno D. Elections and Democratization in Authoritarian Regimes // American Journal of Political Science. 2013. V. 57. N. 3. P. 703–716.
20. Duverger M. Political Parties: Their Organizations and Activity in the Modern State. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd, 1964 [1951].
21. Frantz E. Voter turnout and opposition performance in competitive authoritarian elections // Electoral Studies. 2018. V. 54. P. 218–225.
22. Fukuyama F. The End of History and the Last Man. New York: The Free Press, 1992.
23. Gandhi J. Elections and Political Regimes // Government and Opposition. 2015. V. 50. N. 3. P. 446–468.
24. Gandhi J., Lust-Okar E. Elections under Authoritarianism // Annual Review of Political Science. 2009. V. 12. P. 403–422.
25. Gandhi J., Przeworski A. Authoritarian Institutions and the Survival of Autocrats // Comparative Political Studies. 2007. V. 40. N. 11. P. 1279–1301.
26. Geddes B. What do we know about democratization after twenty years? // Annual review of political science. 1999. V. 2. N. 1. P. 115–144.
27. Gerschewski J. The three Pillars of Stability: Legitimation, Repression, and Co-optation in Autocratic Regimes // Democratization. 2013. V. 20. N. 1. P. 13–38.
28. Glasius M. What Authoritarianism Is … And Is Not: A Practice Perspective // International Affairs. 2018. V. 94. N. 3. P. 515–533.
29. Golosov G. V. Why and How Electoral Systems Matter in Autocracies // Australian Journal of Political Science. 2016. V. 51. N. 3. P. 367–385.
30. Greene K. F. The Political Economy of Authoritarian Single-Party Dominance // Comparative Political Studies. 2010. V. 43. N. 7. P. 807–834.
31. Hadenius A., Teorell J. Pathways from Authoritarianism // Journal of Democracy. 2007. V. 18. N. 1. P. 143–157.
32. Hafner-Burton E. M., Hyde S. D., Jablonski R.S. When Do Governments Resort to Election Violence? // British Journal of Political Science. 2014. V. 44. N. 1. P. 149–179.
33. Howard M., Roessler P. Liberalizing Electoral Outcomes in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes // American Journal of Political Science. 2006. V. 50. N. 2. P. 365–381.
34. Huntington S. The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
35. Jensen N. M., Malesky E., Weymouth S. Unbundling the relationship between authoritarian legislatures and political risk // British Journal of Political Science. 2014. V. 44. N. 3. P. 655–684.
36. Kaminski M. M. Do parties benefit from electoral manipulation? Electoral laws and heresthetics in Poland, 1989-93 // Journal of Theoretical Politics. 2002. V. 14. N. 3. P. 325–358.
37. Knutsen C. H., Nygård H. M., Wig T. Autocratic elections: Stabilizing tool or force for change? // World Politics. 2017. V. 69. N. 1. P. 98–143.
38. Lehoucq F. Electoral fraud: Causes, types, and consequences // Annual Review of Political Science. 2003. V. 6. N. 1. P. 233–256.
39. Levitsky S., Way L. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
40. Levitsky S., Way L. The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism // Journal of Democracy. 2002. V. 13. N. 2. P. 51–65.
41. Lindberg S. et al. (Ed.). Democratization by elections: A new mode of transition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.
42. Lindberg S. Democracy and Elections in Africa. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2006.
43. Linz J.J. Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder; London: Lynne Riener Publisher, 2000 [1975].
44. Little A. T., Tucker J. A., LaGatta T. Elections, protest, and alternation of power // The Journal of Politics. 2015. V. 77. N. 4. P. 1142–1156.
45. Lust-Okar E. Structuring Conflict in the Arab World: Incumbents, Opponents, and Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
46. Magaloni B. Credible Power-Sharing and the Longevity of Authoritarian Rule // Comparative Political Studies. 2008. V. 41. N. 4-5. P. 715–741.
47. Magaloni B. The Game of Electoral Fraud and the Ousting of Authoritarian Rule // American Journal of Political Science. 2010. V. 54. N. 3. P. 751–765.
48. Magaloni B. Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and Its Demise in Mexico. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
49. Magaloni B., Wallace J. Citizen Loyalty, Mass Protest and Authoritarian Survival. Paper prepared for the conference on Dictatorships: Their Governance and Social Consequences, Princeton University, April 25–26, 2008.
50. McCoy J., Hartlyn J. The relative powerlessness of elections in Latin America // S. Lindberg et al. (Ed.). Democratization by elections: A new mode of transition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.
51. Miller M.K. Democratic pieces: Autocratic elections and democratic development since 1815 // British Journal of Political Science. 2015. V. 45. N. 3. P. 501–530.
52. Morgenbesser L., Pepinsky T. States, neopatrimonialism, and elections: Democratization in Southeast Asia. Griffith: Griffith University, 2016.
53. Norris P. Why Electoral Integrity Matters. N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
54. North D. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
55. Pepinsky T. The Institutional Turn in Comparative Authoritarianism // British Journal of Political Science. 2014. V. 44. N. 3. P. 631–653.
56. Pop-Eleches G., Robertson G.B. Information, elections, and political change // Comparative Politics. 2015. V. 47. N. 4. P. 459–495.
57. Riedl R.B. et al. Authoritarian-led democratization // Annual Review of Political Science. 2020. V. 23. P. 315–332.
58. Riker W. H. Implications from the Disequilibrium of Majority Rule for the Study of Institutions // American Political Science Review. 1980. V. 74. N. 2. P. 432–446.
59. Sartori G. Political Development and Political Engineering / In J. Montgomery and A. Hirschman (Eds.). Public Policy, V. 17, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
60. Schedler A. The Logic of Electoral Authoritarianism / In Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition, edited by A. Schedler. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2006.
61. Schedler A. The Menu of Manipulation // Journal of Democracy. 2002. V. 13. N. 2. P. 36–50.
62. Schedler A. The nested game of democratization by elections // International Political Science Review. 2002. V. 23. N. 1. P. 103–122.
63. Schedler A. The politics of uncertainty: Sustaining and subverting electoral authoritarianism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.
64. Schmitter Ph., Karl T. L. What Democracy Is … And Is Not // Journal of Democracy. 1991. V. 2. N. 3. P. 75–88.
65. Schuler P. J., Gueorguiev D. D., Cantu F. Risk and reward: The differential impact of authoritarian elections on regime decay and breakdown // Available at SSRN 1718056. — 2013.
66. Schumpeter J. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. London: Routledge, 2010 [1943].
67. Seeberg M.B. State Capacity and the Paradox of Authoritarian Elections // Democratization. 2014. V. 21. N. 7. P. 1265–1285.
68. Simpser A. Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections: Theory, Practice, and Implications. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
69. Smith B. Life of the party: The origins of regime breakdown and persistence under singleparty rule // World Politics. 2005. V. 57. N. 3. P. 421–451.
70. Stockmann D., Gallagher M. E. Remote Control: How the Media Sustain Authoritarian Rule in China // Comparative Political Studies. 2011. V. 44. N. 4. P. 436–467.
71. Svolik M. W. The Politics of Authoritarian Rule. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
72. Taagepera R., Shugart M. Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinants of Electoral Systems. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.
73. Teorell J. Determinants of Democratization: Explaining Regime Change in the World, 1972–2006. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
74. Tucker J. A. Enough! Electoral Fraud, Collective Action Problems, and Post-Communist Colored Revolutions // Perspectives on Politics. 2007. V. 5. N. 3. P. 535–551.
75. Tullock G. Autocracy. Dordrechl: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1987.
76. Way L. Authoritarian State Building and the Sources of Regime Competitiveness in the Fourth Wave: The Cases of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine // World Politics. 2005. V. 57. N. 2. P. 231–261.
77. Wintrobe R. The Political Economy of Dictatorship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
78. Wong J., Friedman E. (Ed.). Political transitions in dominant party systems: Learning to lose. London: Routledge, 2008.
79. Wright J., Escribà-Folch A. Authoritarian Institutions and Regime Survival: Transitions to Democracy and Subsequent Autocracy // British Journal of Political Science. 2012. V. 42. N. 2. P. 283–309.
Review
For citations:
Medvedev Yu.S. Authoritarian Elections: State of Literature and Research Problems. Administrative Consulting. 2022;(3):41-57. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2022-3-41-57
Views:
439
Email this article 