The Politics of Authoritarian Rule

254 Pages·2012·7.76 MB·English

by  Milan W. Svolik

ThePoliticsofAuthoritarianRule
What drives politics in dictatorships? Milan W. Svolik argues that all
authoritarian regimes must resolve two fundamental conflicts. First, dic-
tators face threats from the masses over which they rule – this is the
problem of authoritarian control. A second, separate, challenge arises
fromtheeliteswithwhomdictatorsrule–thisistheproblemofauthori-
tarianpower-sharing.Crucially,whetherandhowdictatorsresolvethese
two problems are shaped by the dismal environment in which authori-
tarianpoliticstakesplace:inadictatorship,noindependentauthorityhas
thepowertoenforceagreementsamongkeyactorsandviolenceistheulti-
mate arbiter of conflicts. Using the tools of game theory, Svolik explains
why some dictators, like Saddam Hussein, establish personal autocracy
andstayinpowerfordecades;whyleadershipchangeselsewhereareregu-
larandinstitutionalized,asincontemporaryChina;whysomeauthoritar-
ianregimesareruledbysoldiers,asUgandawasunderIdiAmin;whymany
dictatorships, like PRI-era Mexico, maintain regime-sanctioned political
parties;andwhyacountry’sauthoritarianpastcastsalongshadowoverits
prospectsfordemocracy,astheunfoldingeventsoftheArabSpringreveal.
When assessing his arguments, Svolik complements these and other his-
toricalcasestudieswiththestatisticalanalysisofcomprehensiveoriginal
dataoninstitutions,leaders,andrulingcoalitionsacrossalldictatorships
from1946to2008.
MilanW.SvolikisAssistantProfessorofPoliticalScienceattheUniversity
ofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign.HereceivedhisPh.D.inPoliticalScience
fromtheUniversityofChicago.Svolik’sarticlesonauthoritarianpolitics,
transitionstodemocracy,anddemocraticconsolidationhaveappearedin
leadingpoliticalsciencejournals,includingtheAmericanPoliticalScience
ReviewandtheAmericanJournalofPoliticalScience.Hisresearchinter-
estsincludecomparativepolitics,politicaleconomy,andformalpolitical
theory.

Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
GeneralEditor
MargaretLevi UniversityofWashington,Seattle
AssistantGeneralEditors
KathleenThelen MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
ErikWibbels DukeUniversity
AssociateEditors
RobertH.Bates HarvardUniversity
StephenHanson TheCollegeofWilliamandMary
TorbenIversen HarvardUniversity
StathisKalyvas YaleUniversity
PeterLange DukeUniversity
HelenMilner PrincetonUniversity
FrancesRosenbluth YaleUniversity
SusanStokes YaleUniversity
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The Politics of Authoritarian Rule
MILAN W. SVOLIK
UniversityofIllinois,Urbana-Champaign
cambridgeuniversitypress
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Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107607453
(cid:2)C MilanW.Svolik2012
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
Svolik,MilanW.,1977–
Thepoliticsofauthoritarianrule/MilanW.Svolik,UniversityofIllinois,
Urbana-Champaign.
pagescm.–(Cambridgestudiesincomparativepolitics)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-02479-3(hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-60745-3(paperback)
1.Authoritarianism. 2.Authoritarianism–Casestudies. I.Title.
JC480.S87 2012
320.53–dc23 2012012615
ISBN978-1-107-02479-3Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-60745-3Paperback
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Mojı´m rodicˇom, Daniele Sˇvolı´kovej a Milanovi Sˇvolı´kovi.