| 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. |
