Lecture 23: Authoritarian Politics

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Lecture 23 Authoritarian Politics

• SOSC 152

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Introduction Authoritarian Politics

• A. 1) TYPES of Regimes
• 2) Transitions from Authoritarianism
• B. Institutional CHARACTERISTICS
• C. Role of IDEOLOGY
• D. International Characteristics
• E. Role of PARTICIPATION

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime

• More DIFFICULT to differentiate among these
  regimes more than democratic and socialist.
• 1. African ONE-PARTY systems
• Developed from NATIONALIST MOVEMENT
• Effort to mobilize and unite multi-ethnic groups
  around single national identity.
• Post-revolution, HIGHLY PERSONALIZED REGIMES,
  single dictator as party or movement leader.
• INSTABILITY invites military takeover as military
  and party only two modern institutions.

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 2. PRAETORIAN
• MILITARY DICTATORSHIP often established due to
  fear of Marxist challenge.
• Middle class gives up power to military to
  protect their interests.
• Example of Chile - where Pinochet overthrew
  elected Marxist President Allende.
• In Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador,
  Honduras), powerful military as PROTECTOR OF
  "'HACIENDA"" or plantation economy, must suppress
  Indian plantation workers, eventually dominates
  society and polity.
• Prateorianism also justified by PARTICIPATION
  CRISIS, where modernization and demand for
  political participation greater than institutions
  can manage, need for military takeover.

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 3. BUREAUCRATIC AUTHORITARIANISM
• RESULT OF MODERNIZATION, creating powerful
  alliance between foreign capital, technologically
  advanced military, and modern technocratic elite.
• Challenges argument that MODERNIZATION
  DEMOCRACY
• BRAZIL and ARGENTINA in 1960s and 1970s seen as
  best examples, not backward states but not
  industrialized democratic ones.
• SEE FIGURE in next slide

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3. BUREAUCRATIC AUTHORITARIANISM
East Asian Modernization
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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 4. CORPORATIST
• Based on agreement between middle class,
  military, central state administration and unions
  to work together to avoid conflict and
  competition.
• Monopolies given to specific functional
  constituencies which send negotiators to the
  table to bargain on behalf of social interests.
• Spain under Franco, Portugal under Salazar,
  non-democratic until 1975
• Often applied more broadly without military
• Hong Kong as a variant of this system.

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 5. MILITARY RADICAL
• MILITARY ELITES who adopt leftist policies to
  resolve social inequalities and preempt role of
  Marxist parties.
• LIMITED LINKS to any social class, powerful
  autonomous state, but also weakened due to lack
  of social base.
• Nasser's Egypt, Peru under Alvarez, Nicaragua
  under Sandinistas, maybe Castro's Cuba
  (1959-1975).

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 6. Theocracy
• Highly motivated by Islamic Fundamentalist
  Ideology, takeover by religious elites in
  response to failure of Westernization and/or
  socialism.
• Power base may also be merchants, radical
  students.
• Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan
• What happened to secular state?
• challenge to Weber

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A1. TYPES of Authoritarian Regime (contd)

• 7. East Asian MILITARY MODERNIZERS
• DEVELOPMENTALIST REGIME, with military elites
  keeping bureaucrats honest, as both try to
  promote economic development.
• STRONG REPRESSION of working class to increase
  capital accumulation. (high rates of savings)
• World bank "ENLIGHTENED" BUREAUCRATS responsible
  for PICKING WINNING SECTORS for investment.
• Import-substitution industrialization combined
  with export-led growth. - ISI
• South Korea, Taiwan.
• People also applied it to Indonesia and Thailand,
  but too corrupt.

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A2 Transitional Systems and Paths from
Authoritarianism

• 1975 Third Wave of Democracy
• Some societies shift between MILITARY
  DICTATORSHIP and DEMOCRACY with low level of
  institutionalization of democratic processes
• But HOW to make final transition to relatively
  stable democracy?
• LIBERALIZATION of political system, redefining
  and extending of rights protecting citizens from
  states, decreases citizens calculations of risks
  of political action.
• Lowers cost of political action and increases
  possibility of collective action.
• Strategies of citizens CHANGE in light of
  liberalization.

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A2 Transitional Systems and Paths from
Authoritarianism (contd)

• SPLIT within the ruling elite between HARD and
  SOFT liners offers chance for civilian leaders
  to press military to "SURRENDER POWER and avoid
  bloodshed and overthrow.
• Need to promise NO REVENGE AGAINST MILITARY for
  crimes committed against citizens.
• Critical ability of military and civilians to
  negotiate a PACT.
• This literature draws mostly on LATIN AMERICA,
  less on East Asia.
• In South Korea Kwangju uprising, democratic
  forces broke the "pact" and charged military
  leaders with corruption. (revenge for Kwangju
  massacre)
• In Taiwan, February 28, 1947 mass executions
  never prosecuted.

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B. INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• NON-MARXIST PARTY military, and bureaucracy
• Often seen as HIGHLY DEINSTITUTIONALIZED, with
  power shifts among institutions.
• Single Leaders may shift support among
  institutions to keep themselves in power,
  POLITICS OF SURVIVAL but keeps regime weak.
• Major role is to AVOID CONFLICT.
• Key issue for STRENGTH OF STATE, (strong versus
  weak) is ability of centre to control local
  elites and get them to implement policies.
• But lack of deep revolution, class purge,
  REVOLUTIONARY BREAKTHROUGH and penetration of
  society, so regime likely to be WEAK STATE.
• Military tends to be most POWERFUL INSTITUTION.

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C. Role of IDEOLOGY

• Tend to be NON-IDEOLOGICAL REGIMES (not true for
  theocracy)
• NATIONALISM may be important force for resisting
  external pressures.
• Military radicals driven by SOCIAL JUSTICE, while
  developmentalist military driven by NATIONALISM,
  desire to catch up.
• LACK OF IDEOLOGY allows systems to shift quickly,
  but also means little fixed policy directions
• Weakens state power

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D. INTERNATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Originally may emerge from anti-colonial struggle
  (African one-party system)
• Need to shift from import-substitution
  industrialization (ISI) to export-led growth
  (ELG),
• difficult due to POWER OF DOMESTIC INTERESTS who
  resist foreign investment which would threaten
  inefficient factories built up over years of ISI
  and anti-import policies.
• Exports need undervalued currency which harms
  imports of consumer goods favoured by middle and
  ruling class.
• Strong government/state to make shift
• Since mid-1970s (1975), enormous global pressure
  for shift to democracy, HUNTINGTONS WAVE OF
  DEMOCRACY
• efforts of US and multilateral institutions under
  Washington Concensus to improve governnance

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E. Pattern of POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

• Regimes want to DEPOLITICIZE SOCIETY and
  DEMOBILIZE SOCIETY,
• Slow down social mobilization due to
  modernization.
• LIMITED ROLE FOR MIDDLE CLASS which gives up
  political freedom for economic security.
• But middle class may be IMPORTANT allies of state
  power, not challengers.
• Some social classes, such as landlords, seen as
  target of radical military.
• Little real class support makes the state weak as
  well.