Boundary Control Subnational Authoritarianism in Federal Democracies [Paperback]

Gibson explains how subnational authoritarianism is part of democratic politics and strategic interactions between local authoritarians and national democratic leaders.The democratization of the national government is only a first step in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory. Even after a national government is democratized, subnational authoritarian enclaves often continue to deny rights to citizens of local jurisdictions. This is a common but little-understood problem in the post-communist and developing world and was a key facet of American politics until the fall of the Solid South in the mid-twentieth century. This book explains how subnational authoritarianism is part of normal democratic politics and strategic interactions between local authoritarians and national democratic leaders.The democratization of the national government is only a first step in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory. Even after a national government is democratized, subnational authoritarian enclaves often continue to deny rights to citizens of local jurisdictions. This is a common but little-understood problem in the post-communist and developing world and was a key facet of American politics until the fall of the Solid South in the mid-twentieth century. This book explains how subnational authoritarianism is part of normal democratic politics and strategic interactions between local authoritarians and national democratic leaders.The democratization of a national government is only a first step in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory. Even after a national government is democratized, subnational authoritarian enclaves often continue to deny rights to citizens of local jurisdictions. Edward L. Gibson offers new theoretical perspectives for the study of democratization in his exploration of this phenomenon. His theory of boundary control captures the conflict pattern between incumbents and oppositions when alC'