Violent origins and the emergence of electoral authoritarianism

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Title Violent origins and the emergence of electoral authoritarianism
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Social & Behavioral Science
Department Political Science
Author Oquendo, Luis Alain
Date 2016
Description In the post-Cold War era many closed or fully authoritarian regimes experienced massive changes and transitions. It is important to note that many of these regimes did not transition toward democracy. Instead, we witnessed the proliferation of hybrid regimes, regimes that have both democratic and authoritarian characteristics. In this study, I examine the emergence of a specific type of hybrid regime, electoral authoritarianism. The central argument of this study is that electoral authoritarianism is closely associated with violent histories of regime change, or what I call violent origins. Violent origins refer to revolutions, military coups, and civil wars. Violent origins do not have liberalizing effects. The effects of violent origins contribute to the durability of authoritarian practices. In essence, the effects of violent origins prevent regimes from fully liberalizing into democracies. The result is the emergence of electoral authoritarianism. I find support for this argument through quantitative analyses of 108 cases and illustrative case studies of Nicaragua during the Sandinista era and Paraguay during Alfredo Stroessners tenure. In addition, other competing explanations are examined. The results of this study reveal that there is a fairly ambiguous relationship between economic development and the emergence of electoral authoritarianism. Additionally, the results reveal that the emergence of electoral authoritarianism is tied to international factors or the international environment.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Authoritarianism; Democratization; Electoral Authoritarianism; Hybrid Regimes; Regime Change; Regime Origins
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management ©Luis Alain Oquendo
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 1,170,236 bytes
Identifier etd3/id/4203
ARK ark:/87278/s6b59t31
Setname ir_etd
ID 197748
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6b59t31
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