Abstract
This chapter introduces readers to the strategic dilemma of authoritarian elections and lays out the central questions to be addressed in the book. The chapter also offers a brief summary of existing explanations of election boycotts and their limitations. In addition, the chapter provides an overview of Buttorff’s central argument and main contributions to the study of contentious and authoritarian elections in the Arab world.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Diamond (2015) notes that “around 2006, the expansion of freedom and democracy in the world came to a prolonged halt. Since 2006, there has been no net expansion in the number of electoral democracies, which has oscillated between 114 and 119 (about 60 percent of the world’s states).” He further remarks: “the number of both electoral and liberal democracies began to decline after 2006 and then flattened out” (p. 142).
- 3.
- 4.
Another classification that is common, especially in the democratization by election subliterature, is competitive versus hegemonic authoritarianism . Brownlee (2009), however, notes that while Iran might be considered a competitive authoritarian state, the Arab states in the Middle East region would not be (p. 131; see also Brownlee 2007).
- 5.
- 6.
There are of course exceptions; for example, the Islamic Action Front’s boycott of the 2007 municipal elections in Jordan and the boycott of the 1999 presidential elections in Algeria by the “Group of Six.”
- 7.
Freedom House. 2016. Freedom in the World, 1973–2016.
- 8.
The theory advanced here does not preclude non-party opposition actors. There are important non-party opposition actors (e.g., civil society groups, such as the aarchs in Algeria), in both Jordan and Algeria. However, given that one of the primary goals of the theory is to explain the strategic choices behind a party’s decision to participate in or boycott elections, I selected opposition political parties as the unit of analysis for the case studies.
- 9.
See “Assessment of the Electoral Framework,” 2007, p. 9.
- 10.
Aghrout and Zoubir (2012, p. 39). Roberts (2007) refers to the FFS as the “principled” opposition. One Algerian expert considers neither the Worker’s Party nor the Rally for Culture and Democracy to be “proper” opposition parties (A1, Interview with author, April 2011). See also Storm (2014) on this point.
References
Aghrout, A., & Zoubir, Y. H. (2012). Algérie: Des réformes politiques pour éluder le «printemps arabe». Alternatives Sud, 19, 137–152.
Alvarez, R. M., Hall, T. E., & Hyde, S. D. (2008). Election fraud: Detecting and deterring electoral manipulation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Baaklini, A., Denoeux, G., & Springborg, R. (1999). Legislative politics in the Arab world: The resurgence of democratic institutions. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Bates, R. H., Greif, A., Levi, M., Rosenthal, J. L., & Weingast, B. R. (1998). Analytic narratives. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Beaulieu, E. (2006). Protesting the contest: Election boycotts around the world, 1990–2002. PhD thesis, Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego.
Beaulieu, E. (2014). Electoral protest and democracy in the developing world. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Beaulieu, E., & Hyde, S. (2009). In the shadow of democracy promotion: Strategic manipulation, international observers, and election boycotts. Comparative Political Studies, 42, 392–415.
Blaydes, L. (2011). Elections and distributive politics in Mubarak’s Egypt. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Bratton, M. (1998). Second elections in Africa. Journal of Democracy, 9(3), 51–66.
Brown, N. J. (2012). When victory is not an option: Islamist movements in Arab politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Brown, N. J., & Shahin, E. (2010). Introduction. In N. J. Brown & E. Shahin (Eds.), The struggle over democracy in the Middle East: Regional politics and external policies. New York, NY: Routledge.
Brownlee, J. (2007). Authoritarianism in the age of democratization. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Brownlee, J. (2009). Harbinger of democracy: Competitive elections before the end of authoritarianism. In S. I. Lindberg (Ed.), Democratization by election: A new mode of transition (pp. 128–147). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Brumberg, D. (2002). The trap of liberalized autocracy. Journal of Democracy, 13(4), 56–68.
Carothers, T. (2002). The end of the transition paradigm. Journal of Democracy, 13(1), 5–21.
Cox, G. W. (1997). Making votes count: Strategic coordination in the world’s electoral systems. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Democracy Reporting International and Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center. (2007). Assessment of the electoral framework: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Berlin and Amman: DRI and UJRC.
Diamond, L. (2002). Thinking about hybrid regimes. Journal of Democracy, 13(2), 21–35.
Diamond, L. (2015). Facing up to the democratic recession. Journal of Democracy, 26(1), 141–155.
Gandhi, J. (2008). Political institutions under dictatorship. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Gandhi, J., & Lust-Okar, E. (2009). Elections under authoritarianism. Annual Review of Political Science, 12, 403–422.
Gandhi, J., & Przeworski, A. (2006). Cooperation, cooptation, and rebellion under dictatorships. Economics and Politics, 18(1), 1–26.
Gandhi, J., & Przeworski, A. (2007). Authoritarian institutions and the survival of autocrats. Comparative Political Studies, 40(11), 1279–1301.
Geddes, B. (1999). What do we know about democratization after twenty years. Annual Review of Political Science, 2, 129–148.
Greene, K. (2007). Why dominant parties lose: Mexico’s democratization in comparative perspective. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Huntington, S. P. (1991). The third wave: Democratization in the late twentieth century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Hyde, S. D., & Marinov, N. (2012). Which elections can be lost? Political Analysis, 20(2), 191–210.
Kelley, J. (2011). Do international election monitors increase or decrease opposition boycotts? Comparative Political Studies, 44(11), 1527–1556.
Kelley, J. (2012). Monitoring democracy: When international election observation works and why it often fails. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Laidler, H. W. (1913). Boycotts and the labor struggle: Economic and legal aspects. New York, NY: John Lane Company.
Lehoucq, F. E. (2003). Electoral fraud: Causes, types, and consequences. Annual Review of Political Science, 6, 233–256.
Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2002). The rise of competitive authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy, 16(3), 20–34.
Lindberg, S. I. (2006). Tragic protest: Why do opposition parties boycott elections? In A. Schedler (Ed.), Electoral authoritarianism: The dynamics of unfree competition. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Lindberg, S. I. (Ed.). (2009). Democratization by elections: A new mode of transition. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lust-Okar, E. (2006). Elections under authoritarianism: Preliminary lessons from Jordan. Democratization, 13(3), 456–471.
Magaloni, B. (2006). Voting for autocracy: Hegemonic party survival and its demise in Mexico. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Magaloni, B. (2008). Credible power-sharing and the longevity of authoritarian rule. Comparative Political Studies, 41, 715–741.
Miller, M. K. (2012). Electoral authoritarianism and democracy: A formal model of regime transitions. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 25(2), 153–181.
Pastor, R. (1999). The roles of electoral administration in democratic transitions: Implications for policy and research. Democratization, 6(4), 1–27.
Posusney, M. P. (2005). Multiparty elections in the Arab World: Elections rules and opposition responses. In M. P. Posusney & M. P. Angrist (Eds.), Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Regimes and resistance. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Rakner, L., & van de Walle, N. (2009). Opposition parties and incumbent presidents: The new dynamics of electoral competition. In S. I. Lindberg (Ed.), Democratization by election: A new mode of transition (pp. 202–225). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Roberts, H. (2007). Demilitarizing Algeria. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Schedler, A. (2002a). The menu of manipulation. Journal of Democracy, 13(2), 36–50.
Schedler, A. (2002b). The nested game of democratization by elections. International Political Science Review, 23(1), 103–122.
Schedler, A. (2006). The logic of electoral authoritarianism. In A. Schedler (Ed.), Electoral authoritarianism: The dynamics of unfree competition. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Schedler, A. (2009). Sources of competition under electoral authoritarianism. In S. I. Lindberg (Ed.), Democratization by election: A new mode of transition (pp. 179–201). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Stinchcombe, A. L. (1968). Constructing social theories. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Storm, L. (2014). Party politics and the prospects for democracy in North Africa. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Buttorff, G.J. (2019). The Strategic Dilemma of Authoritarian Elections. In: Authoritarian Elections and Opposition Groups in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92186-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92186-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92185-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92186-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)