Strongmen and Straw Men: Authoritarian Regimes and the Initiation of International Conflict

We study the impact of Russian regional governors’ rotation and their affiliation with private sector firms for the quality of investment climate in Russian regions. A theoretical model presented in the paper predicts that these factors taken together improve “endogenous” property rights under authoritarian regimes. This conclusion is confirmed empirically by using Russian regional data for 2002—2010; early in that period gubernatorial elections had been canceled and replaced by federal government’s appointments. This is an indication that under certain conditions government rotation is beneficial for economic development even when democracy is suppressed.

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Trust in the Police: Cross-country Comparisons

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2012-11-24-47 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 24-47

Author(s):

V. Gimpelson ◽

G. Monusova

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Public Attitudes ◽

Crime Rates ◽

Authoritarian Regimes ◽

Data Sets ◽

The Public ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Cross Country ◽

Police Activity

Using different cross-country data sets and simple econometric techniques we study public attitudes towards the police. More positive attitudes are more likely to emerge in the countries that have better functioning democratic institutions, less prone to corruption but enjoy more transparent and accountable police activity. This has a stronger impact on the public opinion (trust and attitudes) than objective crime rates or density of policemen. Citizens tend to trust more in those (policemen) with whom they share common values and can have some control over. The latter is a function of democracy. In authoritarian countries — “police states” — this tendency may not work directly. When we move from semi-authoritarian countries to openly authoritarian ones the trust in the police measured by surveys can also rise. As a result, the trust appears to be U-shaped along the quality of government axis. This phenomenon can be explained with two simple facts. First, publicly spread information concerning police activity in authoritarian countries is strongly controlled; second, the police itself is better controlled by authoritarian regimes which are afraid of dangerous (for them) erosion of this institution.

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The Military in the Arab World, from Authoritarian Regimes to Transitional Settings and

10.23976/smep.2015002 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Philippe Droz-Vincent

Keyword(s):

Arab World ◽

Authoritarian Regimes ◽

The Military

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Princes and Parliaments in the Arab World

The Middle East Journal ◽

10.3751/58.3.12 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 367-384 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Michael Herb

Keyword(s):

Arab World ◽

Authoritarian Regimes ◽

Political Life ◽

The Political ◽

The World

Several Arab monarchies have held reasonably free elections to parliaments, though all remain authoritarian. This article compares the Arab monarchies with parliaments in other parts of the world, including both those that became democracies, and those that did not. From this I derive a set of prerequisites, potential pitfalls, and expected stages in the monarchical path toward democracy. This helps us to understand not only the democratic potential of the parliamentary experiments in the Arab monarchies, but also the role these parliaments play in the political life of these authoritarian regimes.

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Active and Passive Citizenship in the Arab World

The Middle East Journal ◽

10.3751/73.4.15 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 (4) ◽

pp. 607-627 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roel Meijer

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

19Th Century ◽

Arab World ◽

Authoritarian Regimes ◽

Modern State ◽

Active Citizenship ◽

Passive Mode ◽

Current Crisis ◽

Early 19Th Century ◽

Citizenship Regimes

This article argues that the current crisis of relations between states and citizens in the Arab Middle East cannot just be traced to the rise of postcolonial authoritarian regimes but further back, to the rise of the modern state in the early 19th century. The development of modern citizenship regimes has not empowered citizens, it has instead led to a more passive mode of citizenship. After a historical discussion of the various ruling bargains in modern regional history, the article concludes with a discussion of ongoing protests demanding more active citizenship regimes.

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