The Roots of the Authoritarian State in Africa: African politics in the post-colonial era has been marred by authoritarianism, corruption, military intervention, and leadership failures amidst a broader socio-economic crisis characterized by poverty. U …
MARKS OF THE AUTHORITARIAN STATE Published: March 23, 2015
A democratic society makes a clear distinction between state and society and there is a constitutional limitation on the power of the state. This consists of demarcation of activities as those, which the state is well adapted to perform, and those, whi …
CONSTITUTIONS IN AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES Published: March 23, 2015
Tom Ginsburg and Alberto Simpser: An old Soviet joke has it that a man goes into a restaurant and surveys the menu. “I’ll have the chicken,” he says, only to be told by the waiter that the restaurant is out of chicken. He asks for the beef, only to be …
COMPETITIVE AUTHORITARIANISM Published: March 23, 2015
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way: “Politics…is not like football, deserving a level playing field. Here, you try that and you will be roasted.” Former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi. What is Competitive Authoritarianism?: Competitive authoritarian r …
AUTHORITARIAN RESILIENCE IN RWANDA AND ETHIOPIA Published: March 23, 2015
Hilary Matfess: The development community’s analysis of fragile states overlooks the variety of governance patterns exhibited by these countries. Most notably, it frequently does not take into account the differences between authoritarian states—some m …
AUTHORITARIAN CONTAGION IN AFRICA Published: March 23, 2015
Robert Herman: The recent pressure on civil society and independent media in Kenya is not only a significant threat to democracy in a geopolitically important country, but also the predictable outcome of the international community’s failure to punish …
AUTHORITARIANISM NOT KEY TO CHINA’S ECONOMIC SUCCESS! Published: March 23, 2015
Yao Yang: Authoritarian State… International observers frequently link China’s economic success to authoritarianism. And when it comes to the comparison between China and Western countries, the issue is often framed by the contrast between the Beijin …