2
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Explaining the Paradox of Plebiscites

      , ,
      Government and Opposition
      Cambridge University Press (CUP)

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Recent referendums show that autocratic regimes consult voters even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion. They have been doing so with increasing frequency since Napoleon consulted French citizens in 1800. Why and when do dictatorial regimes hold referendums they are certain they will win? Analysing the 162 referendums held in autocratic and non-free states in the period 1800–2012, the article shows that referendums with a 99% yes-vote tend to occur in autocracies with high ethnic fractionalization and, in part, in sultanistic (tinpot or tyrannical) regimes, but generally not in communist (totalitarian) states. An explanation is proposed for this variation.

          Related collections

          Most cited references27

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT DEMOCRATIZATION AFTER TWENTY YEARS?

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Thinking About Hybrid Regimes

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              The Rise of Illiberal Democracy

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Government and Opposition
                Gov. & oppos.
                Cambridge University Press (CUP)
                0017-257X
                1477-7053
                April 2020
                August 10 2018
                April 2020
                : 55
                : 2
                : 202-219
                Article
                10.1017/gov.2018.16
                04c1a994-2d3d-4735-90b9-33ce73e7f034
                © 2020

                https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms

                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article