Political Institutions under Dictatorship

Gandhi's cross-national study examines the political uses of nominally democratic institutions by non-democratic states.

Jennifer Gandhi (Author)

9780521897952, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 September 2008

260 pages, 1 map 22 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

“As the title suggests, Jennifer Gandhi’s Political Institutions under Dictatorship argues that democratic-looking institutions, particularly legislatures, are not merely “window-dressing” but essential weapons in a dictator’s arsenal… Political Institutions under Dictatorship offers a somewhat different perspective on institutions, one that draws more from a rational choice as opposed to a historical-institutionalism perspective… This account of origins is clearly inspired by rational choice and functionalism, and Gandhi uses evidence from the case studies of Kuwait, Ecuador, and Morocco in her second chapter to illustrate that her deductions are empirically supportable.” -David Art, Comparative Politics

Often dismissed as window dressing, nominally democratic institutions, such as legislatures and political parties, play an important role in non-democratic regimes. In a comprehensive cross-national study of all non-democratic states from 1946 to 2002 that examines the political uses of these institutions by dictators, Jennifer Gandhi finds that legislative and partisan institutions are an important component in the operation and survival of authoritarian regimes. She examines how and why these institutions are useful to dictatorships in maintaining power. In their efforts to neutralize threats to their power and to solicit cooperation from society, autocratic leaders use these institutions to organize concessions to potential opposition. The use of legislatures and parties to co-opt opposition results in significant institutional effects on policies and outcomes under dictatorship.

1. The world of dictatorial institutions
2. Three illustrative cases
3. The use of institutions to co-opt
4. Institutions and policies under dictatorship
5. Institutions and outcomes under dictatorship
6. Institutions and the survival of dictators.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP]