Defeating Authoritarian Leaders in Postcommunist Countries (Paperback)

From 1998 to 2005, six elections took place in postcommunist Europe and Eurasia that had the surprising outcome of empowering the opposition and defeating authoritarian incumbents or their designated successors. Valerie J. Bunce and Sharon L. Wolchik compare these unexpected electoral breakthroughs with one another and with elections that had the more typical result of maintaining authoritarian rule. They draw three conclusions. First, the opposition was victorious because of the hard and creative work of a transnational network composed of local opposition and civil society groups, members of the international democracy assistance community, and graduates of successful electoral challenges to authoritarian rule in other countries. Second, the remarkable run of these upset elections reflected the ability of this network to diffuse an ensemble of innovative electoral strategies across state boundaries. Finally, elections can serve as a powerful mechanism for democratic change. This is especially the case when civil society is strong, the transfer of political power is through constitutional means, and opposition leaders win with small mandates.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics
Release date:	June 2011
First published:	June 2011
Authors:	Valerie J. Bunce • Sharon L. Wolchik
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	386
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-18725-1
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Comparative politics Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy Promotions
LSN:	0-521-18725-7
Barcode:	9780521187251

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!