scholarly journals Electoral Activism in Iran: A Mechanism for Political Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-514
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Kadivar ◽  
Vahid Abedini
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Regime Politics ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Autocratic Regimes ◽  
Authoritarian Elections

Scholars of electoral authoritarianism contend that elections make autocratic regimes more durable, while scholarship on democratization states that authoritarian elections can lead to electoral revolutions and regime change. In this article, we argue that these two lenses occlude smaller instances of activism during election periods and the influence that this activism has on bringing about gradual political change. To build our argument, we draw on two presidential elections held in Iran in 2009 and 2013. We show how grassroots activists use elections to abort gains made by hardliners, push centrist and moderate candidates toward more reformist and democratic stances, promote issues that would otherwise be considered beyond the pale of formal regime politics, and encourage solidarity and opposition coalition building.

scholarly journals Electoral Activism in Iran: A Mechanism for Political Change

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Kadivar ◽  
Vahid Abedini
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Regime Politics ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Autocratic Regimes ◽  
Authoritarian Elections

Scholars of electoral authoritarianism contend that elections make autocratic regimes more durable, while scholarship on democratization states that authoritarian elections can lead to electoral revolutions and regime change. In this paper, we argue that these two lenses occlude smaller instances of activism during election periods and the influence that this protest has on bringing about gradual political change. To build our argument, we draw on two presidential elections held in Iran in 2009 and 2013. We show how grassroots activists use elections to abort gains made by hard-liners, push centrist and moderate candidates toward more reformist and democratic stances, promote issues that would otherwise be considered beyond the pale of formal regime politics, and encourage solidarity and opposition coalition building.

Elections and Political Regimes

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gandhi
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Political Liberalization ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Authoritarian Elections

Post-Cold War autocracies appear novel in their use of multiparty elections, attracting the attention of scholars and policymakers alike. A longer historical view, however, reveals that what is unique is not electoral authoritarianism after 1989, but rather the electoral inactivity of autocracies during the Cold War period. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, authoritarian regimes have held multiparty elections. The prevalence of these elections begs the question of whether they have any effects on political liberalization and democratization. But the study of authoritarian elections in processes of political change faces a number of theoretical and empirical challenges that can only partly be surmounted with existing approaches.

23. Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schedler
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Mexican Revolution ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Criminal Violence ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines Mexico’s gradual and largely peaceful transition to democracy, followed by a sudden descent into civil war. In the closing decades of the twentieth century, Mexico’s major challenge was political democratization. Today, it is organized criminal violence. Vicente Fox’s victory in the presidential elections of 2000 ended more than seventy years of hegemonic party rule. However, a civil war soon broke out, sparking a pandemic escalation of violence related to organized crime. The chapter first traces the history of Mexico from its independence in 1821 to the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920 before discussing the foundations of electoral authoritarianism in the country. It then considers the structural bases of regime change in Mexico, along with the process of democratization by elections. It concludes by analysing why a civil war broke out in Mexico following its transition to democracy.

Was it worth the trouble? Limited competition and citizen well-being under authoritarian rule

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Andrea Cassani
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

The last part of 20th century saw the collapse of a dramatic number of dictatorships. Rather than democracy, several of these transitions brought regimes where limited political competition coexists with persistently authoritarian practices. The diffusion of this form of authoritarianism in the developing world raises several questions about its broader consequences. Most importantly, does political change short of democratization matter for ordinary citizens? Recent research demonstrates that nominally democratic institutions, even in the absence of people empowerment, can result in better living conditions. The paper adds to this debate by formulating and testing new hypotheses. I compare electoral authoritarianism with democracy and full dictatorship, including specific subtypes of the latter, and focus on both policy outputs and outcomes.

14. Democratization and Regime Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lise Rakner
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
International Development ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Democratic Consolidation ◽  
Governance Regime ◽  
Measuring Democracy ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Autocratic Regimes

This chapter explores the link between democratization and regime change in the developing world. It begins with a discussion of theories of democratization, along with recent trends and understandings of democratic consolidation. It then considers variations within democratic and autocratic regimes and the different ways of measuring democracy. It also examines how domestic and international factors interact to affect politics in developing countries in general and processes of democratization in particular. Finally, it evaluates international dimensions of democratization, focusing on the significance of democratization for international development. It reflects on how the global good governance regime is adopting to a world that is no longer bipolar and in which U.S. (Western) hegemonic power is reduced.

Collective Action and Political Change: Public and Semipublic Strategies of Brazilian Rural Movements (1990s–2017)

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 113-130
Author(s):  
Priscila Delgado de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

A study of the Brazilian Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores during recent moments of regime change suggests two main strategies for understanding the impacts of political change on social movement action: assessing the degree of political proximity between activists and the government and the presence or absence of institutional venues for interaction and looking beyond the public expressions of contention to consider semipublic action. When there is political proximity the public activities of movements tend to be less contentious, and when there are institutional venues for interaction protests will be routinized rather than disruptive. When proximity is lacking activists are likely to perform disruptive protests and to give priority to disputing meanings within society and within their own constituencies. Um estudo do Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores do Brasil durante momentos recentes de mudança de regime sugere duas estratégias principais para entender os impactos das mudanças políticas na ação do movimento social: avaliar o grau de proximidade política entre ativistas e o governo e a presença ou ausência de espaços institucionais para interação e olhar além das expressões públicas de discórdia para considerar a ação semipública. Quando há proximidade política, as atividades públicas dos movimentos tendem a ser menos contenciosas e, quando existem canais institucionais para interação, tende-se a rotinas de protestos pouco disruptivos. Quando falta proximidade, é provável que os ativistas dêem prioridade a protestos disruptivos e a disputas de significados na sociedade e dentro de seus próprios quadros.

Remembering Our Roots

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-388
Author(s):  
Nathan J. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Science Disciplines

Scholars of the Middle East based in social science disciplines—especially my own, political science—are likely to feel a bit more welcome by their colleagues as a result of recent events in the Middle East. Not only will we be informative conversationalists in the hallways for a while because of our regional expertise, but also, far more profoundly, the sorts of things that political scientists study, from voting patterns to regime change, are suddenly interesting subjects in the region. This is not to say that Middle East elections were not studied in the past or that research on political change was not undertaken—far from it. But the questions posed, the terms used, and tools employed were often different from those more prevalent in the discipline. Political scientists focusing on the Middle East are therefore likely to find this a gratifying time, ripe with opportunities for comparative and cross-regional analysis. And those nonregional specialists whose interests lie in a wide variety of topics from voting behavior to revolutions may work harder to incorporate Middle Eastern cases into their own work.

Color revolutions: The Belarus case

2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Marples
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Color Revolutions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Ambivalent Attitude ◽  
Historical Past

This paper focuses on the 2006 presidential elections in Belarus and offers several explanations for the lack of regime change. It posits that the answers lie in the official interpretations of the historical past, the personal popularity of the president—acquired partly through his firm control over the media and persecution of his enemies—and the electorate’s focus on economic rather than political issues or emphasis on democratic values. It notes also the importance of Russia as a player in Belarus, and Russia’s ambivalent attitude toward the continuing dictatorship in Minsk.

scholarly journals CATHOLICS AND THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-312
Author(s):  
Corwin Smidt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Popular Vote ◽  
The Past ◽  
Swing Vote ◽  
Election Process

This article examines the role of Catholics within the 2020 presidential election in the United States. Although Catholics were once a crucial and dependable component of the Democratic Party’s electoral coalition, their vote in more recent years has been much more splintered. Nevertheless, Catholics have been deemed to be an important “swing vote” in American politics today, as in recent presidential elections they have aligned with the national popular vote. This article therefore focuses on the part that Catholics played within the 2020 presidential election process. It addresses the level of political change and continuity within the ranks of Catholics over the past several elections, how they voted in the Democratic primaries during the initial stages of the 2020 presidential election, their level of support for different candidates over the course of the campaign, how they ultimately came to cast their ballots in the 2020 election, and the extent to which their voting patterns in 2020 differed from that of 2016.

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