Dictators and dictatorships: understanding authoritarian regimes and their leaders

334 Pages·2011·1.604 MB·English

by  Ezrow, Natasha M.;Frantz, Erica

Dictators and
Dictatorships
This page intentionally left blank
Dictators and
Dictatorships
Understanding Authoritarian
Regimes and Their Leaders
Natasha M. Ezrow
Erica Frantz
2011
The Continuum International Publishing Group
80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
www.continuumbooks.com
Copyright © 2011 by Natasha M. Ezrow and Erica Frantz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
written permission of the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ezrow, Natasha M.
Dictators and dictatorships : understanding authoritarian regimes and
their leaders / Natasha M. Ezrow, Erica Frantz.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4411-1468-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-4411-1468-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4411-7396-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-4411-7396-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Dictatorship. 2. Dictators. 3. Authoritarianism.
I. Frantz, Erica. II. Title.
JC495.E97 2011
321.9–dc22
2010025328
ISBN: HB: 978-1-4411-1468-6
PB: 978-1-4411-7396-6
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction xiii
Politics under Dictatorship xiii
Notes xviii
1
Authoritarian Politics: Typologies 1
Defining Dictatorship 1
Theoretical Background 2
Contemporary Typologies of Dictatorships 8
How Dictatorships are Classified in this Study? 19
Summary and Conclusion 23
Notes 24
2
The Causes of Dictatorship 27
Explaining the Emergence of Authoritarian Government 28
Summary and Conclusion 49
Notes 51
3
The Survival of Authoritarian Regimes: Strategies
and Trends 54
Factors that Influence the Survival of Dictatorships 55
How Dictatorships Fall 61
Elections, Parties, and the Survival of Authoritarian Regimes 67
Summary and Conclusion 77
Notes 78
4
The Survival of Authoritarian Leaders: Strategies
and Trends 81
The Role of Elites 82
Strategies for Survival 83
vi
Contents
Structural Factors that Influence Leadership Survival 84
How Dictators are ousted? 86
Summary and Conclusion 92
Notes 94
5
Coups 96
Definition of a Coup 96
Types of Coups 97
Staging a Coup 98
Factors that Increase the Likelihood of Coups 100
Regional Coup Trends 105
Failed Coups 106
Summary and Conclusion 110
Notes 110
6
Dictatorships and Political Gridlock 113
Regime Type, Elite Policy Preferences, and Political Gridlock 114
The Consequences of Political Gridlock 122
Summary and Conclusion 123
Notes 124
7
Dictatorships and the Economy 127
Regime Type and the Economy 127
Foreign Aid in Dictatorships 131
Dictatorships and Corruption 132
Summary and Conclusion 138
Notes 140
8
Dictatorships and International Conflict 142
The Conflict Behavior of Dictatorships 143
Domestic Institutions and Signaling 146
Foreign Policy in Dictatorships 150
Military Intelligence in Dictatorships 154
Summary and Conclusion 161
Notes 163
vii
Contents
9
Military Dictatorships in Latin America and Beyond 166
What is Military Rule? 166
Theoretical Analyses of Military Dictatorships 167
Case Studies 174
Summary and Conclusion 186
Notes 188
10
Single-party Dictatorships in Eastern Europe,
Asia, and Beyond 191
What is Single-party Dictatorship? 191
Theoretical Analyses of Single-party Dictatorships 193
Case Studies 200
Summary and Conclusion 210
Notes 212
11
Personalist Dictatorships in Sub-Saharan Africa
and Beyond 215
What is Personalist Dictatorship? 215
Theoretical Analyses of Personalist Dictatorships 217
Case Studies 225
Summary and Conclusion 235
Notes 236
12
Monarchies in the Middle East and Beyond 240
What is Monarchic Rule? 241
Theoretical Analyses of Monarchies 242
Case Studies 255
Summary and Conclusion 259
Notes 260
13
Hybrid Dictatorships 264
Personalist/Military Hybrid: Pakistan (1977–1988) 264
Personalist/Single-party Hybrid: Cuba (1959–present) 266
Single-party/Military Hybrid: El Salvador (1948–1984) 268
Triple Threat: Egypt (1952–present) 270
viii
Contents
Summary and Conclusion 273
Notes 273
Conclusion 276
Key Highlights 276
Note 279
Bibliography 280
Author Index 307
Subject Index 309
List of Illustrations
Tables
Table 2.1 Explaining the Emergence of Types of Dictatorships 48
Table 4.1 Assassinations of Post-World War II Dictators 91
Table 5.1 Sample List of Coups and Coup Attempts 107
Table 7.1 Economic Miracles and Disasters 130
Table 7.2 Corruption and Authoritarian Regime Type (2009) 133
Table 9.1 Sample of Military Dictators/Dictatorships 175
Figures
Figure 2.1 Level of Development and Incidence of Democratic Regimes 30
Figure 2.2 Major Oil/Gas Producing Countries 31
Figure 4.1 Average Number of Years Dictators in Office 87
Figure 4.2 Survival Rates of Authoritarian Leaders 87
Figure 6.1 Political Gridlock Across Dictatorships 116
Figure 7.1 Countries in Top and Bottom Third of Wealth, 2000 128