Competitive Authoritarianism
Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War

This book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes in the post-Cold War era.

Steven Levitsky (Author), Lucan A. Way (Author)

9780521709156, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 August 2010

536 pages, 2 b/w illus. 20 tables
23.4 x 15.5 x 3.6 cm, 0.75 kg

'[Levitsky and Way] have made a rich contribution to [a] growing body of literature. Among the many merits of their book is [their] effort to bring greater clarity to the concept they investigate.' Ergun Özbudun, Turkish Review

Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.

Part I. Introduction and Theory: 1. Introduction
2. Explaining competitive authoritarian regime trajectories: international linkage and the organizational power of incumbents
Part II. High Linkage and Democratization: Eastern Europe and the Americas: 3. Linkage, leverage, and democratization in Eastern Europe
4. Linkage, leverage, and democratization in Latin America and the Caribbean
Part III. The Dynamics of Competitive Authoritarianism in Low Linkage Regions: The Former Soviet Union, Africa, and Asia: 5. The evolution of post-Soviet competitive authoritarianism
6. Africa: transitions without democratization
7. Diverging outcomes in Asia
8. Conclusion
Appendix. Measuring competitive authoritarianism and authoritarian stability.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], The Cold War [HBTW]