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The Politics of Co-optation: Ethnopolitical Minority Organizations and Authoritarian Elections in the Middle East.
- Source :
-
Ethnopolitics . Mar2021, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p216-243. 28p. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Co-optation via elections in authoritarian regimes, in which leaders ward off threats to their rule by granting parties electoral access in exchange for their support, is a ubiquitous phenomenon that has received considerable attention from scholars. Two important questions that remain unanswered, however, are who exactly from among the opposition is being co-opted and why do parties accept offers of co-optation? We argue that among ethnopolitical minorities, authoritarian leaders co-opt parties that will acquiesce to their rule in exchange for patronage perks. However, due to limited information, leaders selectively legalize organizations with regime-friendly goals that make them potential candidates for co-optation, and then use elections strategically to allow the most viable candidates to self-select into the electoral process. In turn, this structure of co-optation shapes the electoral incentives of opposition parties. Using data on ethnopolitical minority organizations in authoritarian regimes across the Middle East from 1980–2004, we find support for the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17449057
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Ethnopolitics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 148720792
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2020.1853916