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Book Synopsis

Explores why authoritarian regimes bother to hold elections.

Behind the Façade examines the question of why authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia bother holding elections. Using comprehensive case studies of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore, Lee Morgenbesser argues that elections allow authoritarian regimes to collect information, pursue legitimacy, manage political elites, and sustain neopatrimonial domination. He demonstrates how these functions are employed to manage the complex strategic interaction that occurs between dictators, political elites, and citizens. Far from being mere window dressing or even a precursor to democracy, flawed elections, Morgenbesser concludes, are paramount to the maintenance of authoritarian rule.

Behind the Facade Elections under

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A Hardback by Lee Morgenbesser

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    View other formats and editions of Behind the Facade Elections under by Lee Morgenbesser

    Publisher: State University of New York Press
    Publication Date: 01/10/2016
    ISBN13: 9781438462875, 978-1438462875
    ISBN10: 1438462875
    Also in:
    Elections and referenda / suffrage Political campaigning and advertising

    Description

    Book Synopsis

    Explores why authoritarian regimes bother to hold elections.

    Behind the Façade examines the question of why authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia bother holding elections. Using comprehensive case studies of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore, Lee Morgenbesser argues that elections allow authoritarian regimes to collect information, pursue legitimacy, manage political elites, and sustain neopatrimonial domination. He demonstrates how these functions are employed to manage the complex strategic interaction that occurs between dictators, political elites, and citizens. Far from being mere window dressing or even a precursor to democracy, flawed elections, Morgenbesser concludes, are paramount to the maintenance of authoritarian rule.

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