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P18


Authoritarian vs democratic leadership for development: the cases of Africa & Asia 
Convenor:
Nic Cheeseman (University of Birmingham)
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Formats:
Papers Synchronous
Stream:
Political regimes and leadership
Sessions:
Thursday 18 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London

Short Abstract:

This panel will explore whether authoritarian or democratic leadership has been better for development in Africa & Asia, as part of a broader conversation about the specific conditions under which different types of regime do - and do not - promote development.

Long Abstract:

The question of whether authoritarian or democratic political systems are more effective at providing development is a classic debate within both political science and development studies. Recently, the impressive performance of authoritarian states such as Ethiopia and Rwanda - along with the rise of China - has led to a resurgence in popular and academic arguments that authoritarian regimes might perform better. Yet comparative and quantitative research has consistently found that authoritarian states in Africa tend to underperform, whether it comes to delivering economic growth or public services. By contrast, authoritarian states in Asia appear to have a better - though of course far from unblemished - record. Taking off from this finding, recent research by Nic Cheeseman and Robert Foa suggests that the effectiveness of authoritarian models of development depends on a number of mediating factors including the strength of formal institutions and the existence of informal checks and balances. As a result, the question of whether authoritarian or democratic systems work better for development may not have a single answer, but may vary both between and within regions. This panel will explore this idea by looking at the record of developmental leadership in Africa and Asia. Panellists will be invited to either focus on a specific region or to explicitly compare between the two.

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Thursday 18 June, 2020, -