{"title":"Threat Perception and Democratic Support in Post-Arab Spring Egypt","authors":"Shimaa Hatab","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15822914282706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15822914282706","url":null,"abstract":"The article examines the reasons why Egyptian elites and masses withdrew their support for democracy only two years after they staged mass protests calling for regime change in 2011. I draw on basic tenets of bounded rationality and recent advances within the field of cognitive heuristics\u0000 to demonstrate how cues generated from domestic and regional developments triggered stronger demands for security and stability. Drawing on elite interviews and public opinion surveys, I show how both elites and the masses paid special attention to intense and vivid events which then prompted\u0000 a demand for the strong man model. Fears of Islamists pushed both elites and masses to update their preferences, seek refuge in old regime bargains, and reinstate authoritarianism.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"69-98"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5129/001041520x15822914282706","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41660091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Institutions as Signals: How Dictators Consolidate Power in Times of Crisis","authors":"Joan C. Timoneda","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15815281661634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15815281661634","url":null,"abstract":"Formal institutions in dictatorship are known to improve authoritarian governance and promote power-sharing. Yet institutions also act as tools of information propagation and can be used by autocrats for signaling purposes. In this article, I argue that in times of weakness, dictators\u0000 follow an expand-and-signal strategy, expanding the ruling coalition to decrease the relative power of coup plotters and then create visible formal institutions to signal strong support. Doing so decreases (1) the probability that a coup is launched and (2) that one succeeds if staged. I propose\u0000 a formal model to unpack the mechanisms of my argument and use the case of the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo's rule to illustrate my theory.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44004460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rebuilding the Ba'thist State: Party, Tribe, and Administrative Control in Authoritarian Iraq, 1991–1996","authors":"Lisa Blaydes","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15839612212809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15839612212809","url":null,"abstract":"How do authoritarian states establish control in the wake of regime threatening shocks? The 1991 Uprisings—anti-regime protests across Iraqi provinces—were a turning point for Saddam Hussein and the Ba'th Party. I discuss two strategies deployed by the Ba'thist regime to\u0000 reconsolidate political authority after the rebellion, both influenced by concerns about extending control to geographically-challenging locations. First, the regime collaborated with tribal intermediaries to outsource monitoring and social control of rural areas, particularly in border regions.\u0000 Second, the regime expanded Ba'th Party influence in Iraq's \"second cities,\" like Basra and Mosul, major population centers located near the border of rival states Iran and Turkey. These findings suggest weak states seek to increase their strength through investment in local political actors\u0000 and in ways that are geographically differentiated across regions.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"93-115"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46088749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women in Legislative Committees in Arab Parliaments","authors":"Marwa Shalaby, Laila Elimam","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15869554405663","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15869554405663","url":null,"abstract":"Extant studies have predominantly focused on women's numerical presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)'s legislatures, yet, research examining the role played by female politicians continues to be limited. To bridge this gap, we study one of the most important, albeit overlooked,\u0000 bodies within these assemblies: legislative committees. Using an original dataset on committee memberships (n=4580), our data show that females are significantly marginalized from influential committees and tend to be sidelined to social issues and women's committees. To explain this, we develop\u0000 a theory of provisional gender stereotyping. We argue that the duration of quota implementation shapes women's access to influential committees. We focus on two mechanisms to support our argument: a redistribution of power dynamics within legislative bodies and women's political expertise.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"139-167"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5129/001041520x15869554405663","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46020432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Violence, Resistance, and Rescue during the Holocaust","authors":"Laia Balcells, D. Solomon","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15863824603010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15863824603010","url":null,"abstract":"What do different forms of anti-Semitic violence during World War II teach us about the comparative study of political violence? In this essay, we review three recent political science books about the perpetrators of anti-Semitic violence, the responses of their Jewish victims, and the rescue efforts that helped European Jews evade violence. These books demonstrate promising theoretical, empirical, and methodological uses for the rich historical record about the Holocaust. We use these studies to highlight the methodological innovations that they advance, the blurry theoretical boundaries between selective and collective forms of mass violence, and the possibility of agentive action by perpetrators, victims, and rescuers alike. We conclude by highlighting the social-psychology of genocidal violence and the legacies of these episodes as areas for future inquiry.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"161-180"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48293703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Constitutional Rights and Social Welfare: Exploring Claims-Making Practices in Post-Apartheid South Africa","authors":"Whitney K. Taylor","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15795426509653","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15795426509653","url":null,"abstract":"When do individuals choose to advance legal claims to social welfare goods? To explore this question, I turn to the case of South Africa, where, despite the adoption of a \"transformative\" constitution in 1996, access to social welfare goods remains sorely lacking. Drawing on an original\u0000 551-person survey, I examine patterns of legal claims-making, focusing on beliefs individuals hold about the law, rights, and the state, and how those beliefs relate to decisions about whether and how to make claims. I find striking differences between the factors that influence when people\u0000 say they should file a legal claim and when they actually do so. The way that individuals interpret their own material conditions and neighborhood context are important, yet under-acknowledged, factors for explaining claims-making.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"25-48"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5129/001041520x15795426509653","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47216066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Moving Away from Maternalism? The Politics of Parental Leave Reforms in Latin America","authors":"Merike Blofield, Michael Touchton","doi":"10.5129/001041520x15893977405559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041520x15893977405559","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":"53 1","pages":"1-27"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42618762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ex-Rebel Authority after Civil War: Theory and Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire","authors":"Philip A. Martin, G. Piccolino, Jeremy S. Speight","doi":"10.5129/001041521x15923094954447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5129/001041521x15923094954447","url":null,"abstract":"How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on recent advances in the study of “rebel rulers” and local goods provision by armed groups, this article offers a typology of ex-rebel commander authority that emphasizes two dimensions of former militants’ power: local-level ties to civilian populations ruled during civil war and national-level ties to post-conflict state elites. Put together, these dimensions produce four trajectories of ex-rebel authority. These trajectories shape whether and how ex-rebel commanders provide social goods within post-conflict communities and the durability of ex-rebels’ local authority over time. We illustrate this typology with qualitative evidence from northern Cote d’Ivoire. The framework yields theoretical insights about local orders after civil war, as well as implications for peacebuilding policies.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47130128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Comparative PoliticsPub Date : 2020-04-29DOI: 10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0001
Bo Rothstein
{"title":"1. The Relevance of Comparative Politics","authors":"Bo Rothstein","doi":"10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0001","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter explains what comparative politics could be relevant for, such as informing the public debate and giving policy advice. It argues that comparative politics has a huge but sometimes underdeveloped potential for being relevant for the various aspects of human well-being, economic prosperity, and social justice that most people care deeply about. Empirical research shows that the manner in which a country’s political institutions are designed and the quality of the operations of these institutions have a strong impact on measures of population health, as well as subjective well-being and general social trust. One result is that democratization without increased state capacity and control of corruption is not likely to deliver increased human well-being. The chapter also considers whether democracy generates political legitimacy, and concludes by suggesting that comparative political science has so far paid relatively little attention to issues of state capacity, control of corruption, and institutional quality.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42796849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Comparative PoliticsPub Date : 2020-04-29DOI: 10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0008
W. Müller
{"title":"8. Governments and Bureaucracies","authors":"W. Müller","doi":"10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0008","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter examines the decision-making modes of governments and their capacities to govern, with particular emphasis on bureaucracies that support governments in their tasks of ruling and administrating the country. It first presents the relevant definitions before discussing different modes of government that reflect the internal balance of power: presidential government, cabinet government, prime ministerial government, and ministerial government. It then considers the autonomy of government, especially from political parties and the permanent bureaucracy, along with the political capacity of governments, the relevance of unified versus divided government, majority versus minority government, and single-party versus coalition government. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the bureaucratic capacities of government, focusing on issues such as classic bureaucracy, the politicization of bureaucracies, and New Public Management systems.","PeriodicalId":47960,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Politics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2020-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42505000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}