Political Institutions under Dictatorship
Abstract
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.
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Elections allow incumbents to acquire information about citizens' preferences and serve as a channel for citizens to express their dissent through the ballot box instead of mobilizing against the regime.
“Elections allow incumbents to acquire information about citizens ' preferences and serve as a channel for citizens to express their dissent through the ballot box, instead of mobilizing against the regime”
From Income inequality in authoritarian regimes: the role of political institutions and state capacity (2023) · cites this paper as Gandhi, 2008
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- Authors
- Gandhi, J.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gandhi, Jennifer
- ORCID
- Gandhi, Jennifer
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2008-09-08
- OpenAlex
- W1484634968
- Cited by
- 1,910
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 67 · 2025: 161 · 2024: 94 · 2023: 109 · 2022: 130 · 2021: 150 · 2020: 191 · 2019: 166 · 2018: 192 · 2017: 122 · 2016: 116 · 2015: 97 · 2014: 89 · 2013: 78 · 2012: 47
- FWCI
- 43.79
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Keywords
- authoritarian regimes, dictatorship, political institutions, legislatures, political parties, regime survival, non-democracies
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