Mind the Electoral Gap: The Effect of Investment in Public Infrastructure on Authoritarian Support in South Korea

Cho, Joan E.; Lee, Jae Seung; Song, B.K.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3006847

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Because petitions contain everyday grievances, they reveal citizens' expectations about what the government ought to deliver. Actually delivering on these expectations raises government approval (Gorgulu, Sharafutdinova, and Steinbuks 2020), an effect augmented by the resulting tangible improvements in citizens' livelihoods (Cho, Lee, and Song 2019;Dickson et al 2016;Guriev and Treisman 2020). Moreover, substantive responsiveness reassures citizens of the regime's ability to meet their demands and reminds them of the social bargain many authoritarian governments strike with their citizens (Cook and Dimitrov 2017): the government delivers socioeconomic progress in return for popular acquiescence (Dale 2005).…”

Section: Electoral Cycles Of Responsiveness To Citizen Petitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Lueders

2021

Am Polit Sci Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contested elections are usually seen as precondition for constituent responsiveness. By contrast, I show that even uncontested elections can create incentives for autocratic regimes to address citizen demands. I propose that closed autocracies engage in cycles of responsiveness before uncontested elections to assure citizens of their competence and raise popular support. They do so to mitigate the short-term destabilizing effects of elections. Analyzing a unique dataset of petitions to the government of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), I calculate that response times to petitions were up to 31% shorter before the GDR’s uncontested elections. Moreover, I introduce the concept of “substantive responsiveness,” which focuses on the material consequences of responsiveness for petitioners, and show that petitions were 64% more likely to be successful. The paper advances our understanding of electoral mobilization in closed regimes and contributes to an emerging research agenda on responsiveness and accountability in autocracies.

show abstract

Section: Electoral Cycles Of Responsiveness To Citizen Petitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Lueders

2021

Am Polit Sci Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Lueders

2021

SSRN Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mind the Electoral Gap: The Effect of Investment in Public Infrastructure on Authoritarian Support in South Korea

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Electoral Responsiveness in Closed Autocracies: Evidence from Petitions in the former German Democratic Republic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About