National Division and Mobilization: A Reinterpretation of Primacy

Owen, Carol; Witton, Ronald A.

doi:10.1086/450631

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The second-degree polynomial for urban primacy suggests that, when El-Shakhs's (1972) urban primacy index reaches .76 (at around the thirtieth percentile in this sample), primacy's negative influence on protests begins to abate; thereafter, the relationship attenuates until it actually turns positive. Apparently, urban primacy does serve to "hold the lid on" social protest for much of its range, but ultimately, intense urban primacy promotes rather than prevents antistate protest, in keeping with our second hypothesis (and confirming Owen and Witton 1973). The effect of the log of primary city size (Log of Largest City) is more straightforward: the larger that city, the more antistate protests.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Logically, however, there are strong reasons to expect urban primacy and subsequent concentrated population growth to shape political change. After all, authoritarian regimes can neither appease nor oppress their populations indefinitely, and such massive population redistribution is sure to have unforeseen economic and political consequences that resist the control of political elites (e.g., Owen and Witton [1973] found that urban primacy in newly industrializing countries is associated with higher rates of domestic conflict). Thus, while many scholars have indicted both primacy and authoritarianism as impediments to social and political progress, the irony is that both may be important stepping-stones to participatory government.…”

Section: An Urban Theory Of Political Change: Macrosocial Theories Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

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City Size and Political Contention

Anthony¹,

Crenshaw

2014

International Journal of Sociology

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In this research we propose an ironic theory of urban concentration, city size, and democratic reform. Authoritarian regimes tend to concentrate their countries' populations in primate cities early in development. While this allows autocratic regimes to easily monitor and suppress most of their countries' would-be political entrepreneurs and incipient social movement organizations, over time such primate cities can grow very large, concentrating grievance (in the form of conspicuous inequalities and ascribed identities) in places that may also offer unique mobilization resources (e.g., international media). We propose that large primary cities can become democratic "pressure cookers" for authoritarian regimes, suggesting that a country's spaceeconomy may be an integral part of the puzzle of democratic transition. Using information from over eighty developing countries, our fixed-effects pooled timeseries analyses of city growth, antistate demonstrations, and democratization generally bear out our theory. We conclude that authoritarian rulers do enjoy political and economic advantages by encouraging or dictating urban concentration, but also that these advantages probably diminish and perhaps reverse over time. As primary cities swell in population, they form global "theaters" that amplify contention and encourage other social forces that hasten democratic reform, which can hoist authoritarianism "on its own petard." We offer this as a somewhat ironic addendum to current macrosocial theories of political contention and change.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: An Urban Theory Of Political Change: Macrosocial Theories Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

City Size and Political Contention

Anthony¹,

Crenshaw

2014

International Journal of Sociology

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“…Urban population was skyrocketing while job creation in the new cities seemed to lag far behind. A number of the leading researchers in the area of urbanization and development reconciled the apparent empirical anomaly by claiming that while the rapid growth of large cities in some developing societies did seem to be creating high levels of poverty, regional and personal inequality, and various types of economic inefficiency, these urban areas were in periods of transition leading to truly "generative" urbanization later (Keyfitz, 1965;Berry, 1971;Owen and Witton, 1973).…”

Section: Urban Economic Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International dependence and urbanization in East Asia: Implications for planning

Smith

1985

Popul Res Policy Rev

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In recent years the political economy of the world-system approach to macrostructural change has asserted itself as a dominant paradigm in the sociology of development. Increasingly, comparative urban researchers have pointed to the linkages between the growth of Third World cities and the role these places play in the changing international system. This article begins by summarizing the major elements of this perspective on "dependent urbanization." Then the urban experiences of the less-developed nations of East Asia are interpreted using this approach. This analysis leads into a discussion that centers on the main objective of the article, which is to tie the dependency/world-system perspective to policy-making and planning. How can this research contribute to debates about practical problems and suggest realistic, implementable solutions? The article concludes with some general comments about the relationship between theoretical analysis, planning, and action directed at bringing about social change.

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Urbanization and urban development in the Muslim World: From the Islamic City Model to megacities

Ahmad

1995

GeoJournal

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National Division and Mobilization: A Reinterpretation of Primacy

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

City Size and Political Contention

City Size and Political Contention

International dependence and urbanization in East Asia: Implications for planning

Urbanization and urban development in the Muslim World: From the Islamic City Model to megacities

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