The Engaged Dictator: A Global Perspective on Deliberative Politics and Stability in Autocracies

Deliberative institutions can be used as tools by autocratic leaders to strengthen the legitimacy of their regimes. This article explores the concept of "authoritarian deliberation" at the global scale and proposes that deliberative institutions both at the grass-root and the elite level increase the likelihood of regime survival. These claims are tested on the basis of recent data provided by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project. The article finds that deliberative institutions have complex effects on the survival rate of authoritarian regimes. On the one hand, regimes with a more pronounced level of elite inclusion have a higher chance of survival. On the other hand, deliberative institutions at the grass-root level show an opposite effect. Public deliberation undermines the stability of authoritarian regimes.