Research Catalog

Title

Pluralism by default : weak autocrats and the rise of competitive politics / Lucan Way.

Author

Way, Lucan, 1968-

Publication

• Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press , 2015.
• ©2015

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 257 pages; 23 cm

Summary

• "Focusing on regime trajectories across the former Soviet Union, Pluralism by Default posits that political competition in "new democracies" has often been grounded less in well-designed institutions, democratic leaders, or emerging civil society and more in the failure of authoritarianism. Lucan Way contends that pluralism has persisted in many cases because autocrats lack the organization, authority, or coordination to steal elections, impose censorship, repress opposition, or keep allies in line. Attention to the dynamics of this "pluralism by default" reveals a largely unrecognized contradiction in the transition process: the same factors that facilitate democratic and semi-democratic political competition may also thwart the development of stable, well-functioning democratic institutions. National divisions or weak states and parties--typically seen as impediments to democracy--can also stymie efforts to crack down on political opposition and concentrate control. Way demonstrates that the features that have made Ukraine the most democratic country in the former Soviet Union also contributed to the country's extreme dysfunction and descent into war in 2014"--
• "Focusing on regime trajectories across three countries in the former Soviet Union (Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine), Lucan Way argues that democratic political competition has often been grounded less in well-designed institutions or emerging civil society, and more in the failure of authoritarianism. In many cases, pluralism has persisted because autocrats have been too weak to steal elections, repress opposition, or keep allies in line. Attention to the dynamics of this "pluralism by default" reveals an important but largely unrecognized contradiction in the transition process in many countries - namely, that the same factors that facilitate democratic and semi-democratic political competition may also thwart the development of stable, well-functioning democratic institutions. Weak states and parties - factors typically seen as sources of democratic failure - can also undermine efforts to crack down on political opposition and concentrate political control"--

Subjects

• Moldova
• Ukraine
• Belarus
• Democratization > Belarus
• Moldova > Politics and government > 1991-
• Democratization > Moldova
• Since 1991
• Political participation > Ukraine
• Politics and government
• POLITICAL SCIENCE / General
• Ukraine > Politics and government > 1991-
• Political participation > Belarus
• Belarus > Politics and government > 1991-
• Political participation > Moldova
• POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / Comparative
• Democratization > Ukraine

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Call Number

JFE 16-1166

ISBN

• 9781421418124
• 1421418126

LCCN

2015010633

OCLC

907657513

Author

Way, Lucan, 1968- author.

Title

Pluralism by default : weak autocrats and the rise of competitive politics / Lucan Way.

Publisher

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press , 2015.

Copyright Date

©2015

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Connect to:

Cover image

Chronological Term

Since 1991

Research Call Number

JFE 16-1166