This paper sees to contribute to the workshop by providing a comparative focus on the international dimensions of authoritarian regimes. In particular, it will focus on the causal mechanisms by which international-level factors can reinforce and bolster authoritarian regimes at the domestic level. International factors can alter the preferences, beliefs, and opportunities of domestic elites in a variety of ways, and the paper will focus in particular on four mechanisms through which international variables can shape the dynamics of authoritarian rule.
First, international actors may simply use coercion to force national-level elites to introduce or maintain authoritarian forms of government (for example, Soviet control in Eastern Europe during the Cold War). Second, international-level variables can create incentives for domestic actors to favour authoritarian rule over other forms of government (for example, Russia’s incentive-based policies towards Ukraine). A third mechanism pertains to the process of socialization, in which the beliefs of national-level elites may be shaped by international-level norms and interactions. Finally, and most crucially, international actors can help protect or create the capacity of national-level elites to pursue authoritarian policies. This final mechanism relates not to changes in the preferences or beliefs of would-be authoritarian leaders, but rather to changes in their capacity to pursue their preferred policies (for example, Saudi Arabia’s assistance to Bahrain during the 2011 crackdown). Discussion of each causal mechanism will be illustrated with empirical examples. The overall aim of the paper is to contribute to theory building regarding the international dimensions of authoritarian rule, so that claims about international influences on authoritarian transition and consolidation can rest on a clear identification of the channels through which international-level factors influence domestic-level outcomes.
