Authoritarian Diffusion and Learning: A Cross-Regional Perspective

Abstract

Autocracies have joined forces to preserve their power in the course of the Arab Uprisings and the Color Revolutions. The burgeoning research on the international dimensions of authoritarian rule alludes to different mechanisms of how contemporary authoritarianism transcends national boundaries. Authoritarian practices and institutions diffuse both within certain regions and across the globe. More specifically, authoritarian leaders can learn from the experiences of their counterparts abroad, but they may also fail to draw the adequate lessons. This panel examines the variety of ways in which authoritarianism spreads, and pays particular attention to disentangling the origins, processes, and impact of these mechanisms. The papers trace authoritarian diffusion and learning with respect to a wide range of issues, including anti-terror-legislations, leadership succession, policing, and NGO restrictions, and by drawing on empirical examples from the Arab world, Southeast Asia, the Post-Soviet region, and Latin America. Cross-regional, intraregional and diachronic comparisons also contribute to further theorizing by allowing for a more rigid differentiation of different types of international influences.