Learning from Global Democratic Challenges and Innovations Mini-Conference III: Migration as Part of the Authoritarian Toolkit

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Part of Mini-Conference

• Learning from Global Democratic Challenges and Innovations Mini-Conference III

Session Description

The political behavior of immigrants has long been a major theme within the literature on migration and citizenship, but rarely has the impact of exit from authoritarianism been explicitly considered as a key IV governing this behavior. To what extent does authoritarianism motivate citizens to emigrate, and in what ways does exposure to authoritarianism impact immigrants' subsequent political behavior in their new countries? And given the widespread awareness that immigrant populations may push for regime change from abroad, in what ways do authoritarian regimes react to or even exploit the political activity of their populations abroad in order to maintain power?

This panel aims to address these questions by focusing on the nexus between authoritarianism and migration. Allen and Wellman examine the expansion of voting rights to citizens living abroad through the lens of Schedler's "menu of manipulation." Bolotnyy, Komisarchik, and Libgober analyze notable relationships between past exposure to authoritarianism and voting behavior after emigration among Jewish refugees. Peters and Miller show that autocrats employ a variety of strategies to prevent citizens living abroad from spreading democracy back to their home countries. Morse examines the ways in which Turkish immigrants translate and map their ideologies onto more democratic political landscapes. Finally, using Zimbabwe as a case study, Dendere identifies a "migration premium" benefitting authoritarian regimes by allowing them to more easily manipulate political outcomes.

Together, these papers address the topic of migration and authoritarianism using diverse cases and embrace an inter-subfield and interdisciplinary approach to research on migration. Key themes of the panel include migration, political behavior, transnationalism, autocratic legalism, and political socialization.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 52: Migration & Citizenship

Chair

• Michael Jones-Correa University of Pennsylvania

Discussants

• Katrina Burgess Tufts University

• Michael Jones-Correa University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Diaspora Voting: A New Item on the "Menu of Manipulation"? - Nathan Allen, St. Francis Xavier University; Elizabeth Iams Wellman, University of Memphis

• Backlash against Repression: Evidence from Refugees Fleeing the Soviet Bloc - Valentin Bolotnyy, Hoover Institution; Mayya Komisarchik, University of Rochester; Brian Daniel Libgober, Northwestern University

• Autocrats' Strategies to Preventing the Spread of Democracy by Migrants - Margaret E. Peters, University of California, Los Angeles; Michael Miller, George Washington University

• Just Another Erdogan: How Migrants Map Political Beliefs onto New Contexts - Irene Morse, University of Michigan

• Migration Premium for Authoritarian Survival - Chipo Dendere