Commissioned Book Review: James Loxton and Scott Mainwaring, Life after Dictatorship: Authoritarian Successor Parties Worldwide
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929919888158 |
| Author | Albertus Schoeman |
| Published date | 01 May 2021 |
| Date | 01 May 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Commissioned Book Reviews |
Political Studies Review
2021, Vol. 19(2) NP5 –NP6
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Commissioned Book Review
888158PSW0010.1177/1478929919888158Political Studies ReviewCommissioned Book Review
book-review2019
Commissioned Book Review
Life after Dictatorship: Authoritarian
Successor Parties Worldwide edited by James
Loxton and Scott Mainwaring. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2018. 430 pp., £26.99
(pbk), ISBN 9781108445412
Authoritarian successor parties (ASPs), parties
that emerge from authoritarian regimes but
operate after the transition to democracy, are a
surprisingly common feature of new democra-
cies and are prominent political actors in nearly
three-quarters of third-wave democracies and
have returned to power in over half of these
democracies. Despite the pervasiveness of
these parties, they remain a relatively under-
researched topic. Life after Dictatorship brings
together some of the most prominent scholars
on democratisation, providing a rich range of
theories for understanding how and why ASPs
survive and often thrive after a transition to
democracy.
Each chapter examines how ASPs in differ-
ent contexts have used their ‘authoritarian
inheritance’ and managed their authoritarian
baggage to function under democracy. Many of
these parties owe their success to their ‘inherit-
ance’ which may include valuable resources
gained under authoritarianism such as clien-
telist networks, a strong party brand or organi-
sation, or a record of successful governance
that proves advantageous in the new democ-
racy. Equally, the question of how ASPs man-
age their authoritarian baggage through
showing contrition or a break with the authori-
tarian past often determines their ability to suc-
ceed under democracy.
In South Korea and Taiwan, for instance,
ASPs’ vigorous advancement of democratic
reforms allowed these ASPs to break from their
authoritarian past as legitimate contenders in
the new democracies while their impressive
record on economic development and national
security provided them with strong party
brands. Equally, their links to big business
forged under authoritarianism provided the
parties with access to money used to finance
the parties and their campaigns under democ-
racy.
However, while the success of most ASPs
has been related to their ability to break with
the past, in Latin America several curious cases
of personalistic ASPs led by popular figures
who once ruled as dictators provide an impor-
tant nuance for understanding authoritarian
baggage. For these ASPs, their connections to
former dictators are their greatest asset. For
them, the achievements of a popular dictator
outweigh authoritarian baggage, making an
embrace of the past a viable strategy for trans-
forming support for an individual into a party
brand – such as Peronism, for instance.
Similarly, in post-communist Eastern
Europe, reinvention is not seen as a prerequi-
site for ASP survival and those parties that
have reinvented themselves achieved only
short-term electoral success. For these rein-
vented ASPs, party reorganisation provided
benefits early on, but, with time, organisational
change led to internal conflict and undermined
their ability to govern and, ultimately, their
electability.
The question of party cohesion likewise has
a significant influence on the electoral success
of ASPs in sub-Saharan Africa. Given the
organisational weakness of most ASPs in
Africa, only those that could successfully limit
defections could maintain the clientelist net-
works crucial for remaining competitive.
However, this is largely determined by the con-
text within which parties compete as electoral
institutions and the competitive landscape limit
the viability for party switching or formation.
Greater polarisation, for instance, is likely to
increase the costs of defection, thus supporting
the survival of ASPs, whereas high levels of
party system fragmentation create incentives
for defection and has contributed to the disinte-
gration of ASPs.
While survival may be the immediate concern
of ASPs following a transition to democracy, it is
also important to consider their long-term pros-
pects. Brazil, with multiple ASPs formed in the
To continue reading
Request your trial