College Honors Program

Stability or Opportunity? A Cross-Regional Analysis of Elections in Hegemonic Authoritarian Regimes

Date of Creation

5-17-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Only

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Maria Rodrigues

Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of elections in hegemonic authoritarian regimes (HARs) on regime stability and the potential for democratization. Elections in HARs are widely understood to not directly lead to democratization and instead contribute to the stability of authoritarian rule. And yet, HARs can and do democratize, with elections contributing to the transition. This thesis attempts to uncover under what conditions elections stabilize an authoritarian regime, and under what conditions do elections contribute to democratization. Employing a cross-regional study of the impact of elections on authoritarian rule in Mexico, Egypt, and Jordan, this research identifies two variables that are necessary for elections in HARs to stabilize authoritarian rule: a) clientelism and b) imposed restraints on organized opposition. This research suggests that American security interests may interfere with the first of those variables, as foreign support can affect some of the costs associated with maintaining clientelist networks.

Comments

Reader: Vickie Langohr

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