An Authoritarian Advantage? Tangible Benefits from Different Regime Types

• In Event: Regime Type, Regime Evolution, Public Policy, and Human Development

Abstract

In 2022, nearly half of the global population lived under autocratizing political regimes (Papada 2023). Autocracy compromises government accountability mechanisms and personal freedoms, but might it offer any tangible environmental, health, economic, or security benefits? After all, media and politicians often make the case for an “authoritarian advantage.” Studies have investigated the impact of political regime form on a variety of outcomes (Gerring et al. 2022), but have yet to build a framework to identify the costs and benefits of different regime types. This paper elaborates such a framework, focusing on outcomes such as the preservation of basic rights and the impact of public policy on the economic advantages of the political elites, and uses case studies and statistical analyses to illustrate its potential utility.

Author

• Kelly M. McMann, Case Western Reserve University