Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)

How do some dictatorships become institutionalized ruled-based systems, while others remain heavily personalist? Once implemented, do executive constraints actually play an effective role in promoting autocratic stability? To understand patterns of regime institutionalization, this book studies the emergence of constitutional term limits and succession procedures, as well as elite power-sharing within presidential cabinets. Anne Meng argues that institutions credibly constrain leaders only when they change the underlying distribution of power between leaders and elites by providing elites with access to the state. She also shows that initially weak leaders who institutionalize are less likely to face coup attempts and are able to remain in office for longer periods than weak leaders who do not. Drawing on an original time-series dataset of 46 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1960 to 2010, formal theory, and case studies, this book ultimately illustrates how some dictatorships evolve from personalist strongman rule to institutionalized regimes. 01.0_pp_i_ii_Constraining_Dictatorship 02.0_pp_iii_vi_Political_Economy_of_Institutions_and_Decisions 03.0_pp_vii_vii_Constraining_Dictatorship 04.0_pp_viii_viii_Copyright_page 05.0_pp_ix_xi_Contents 06.0_pp_xii_xiii_Figures 07.0_pp_xiv_xv_Tables 08.0_pp_xvi_xviii_Acknowledgments 09.0_pp_xix_xx_Abbreviations 10.0_pp_1_33_Introduction 11.0_pp_34_63_Why_Do_Leaders_Institutionalize 11.1_pp_54_59_Proofs_Baseline_Model 11.2_pp_60_61_Proofs_Model_Extension 11.3_pp_62_63_Model_Extension_Removal_of_Institutionalization 12.0_pp_64_92_Two_Illustrative_Cases 12.1_pp_92_92_Appendices 13.0_pp_93_133_How_Should_Institutionalization_Be_Measured 13.1_pp_127_133_Appendices 14.0_pp_134_185_What_Are_the_Causes_of_Regime_Institutionalization 15.0_pp_186_204_What_Are_the_Consequences_of_Institutionalization_on_Autocratic_Stability 15.1_pp_200_204_Appendix 16.0_pp_205_225_What_Are_the_Consequences_of_Institutionalization_on_Leadership_Succession 16.1_pp_222_225_Appendix 17.0_pp_226_238_Conclusion 18.0_pp_239_248_References 19.0_pp_249_256_Index