Neuerscheinung / Publikation

Pleines, Heiko (2019): The Political Role of Business Magnates in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes, Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte 60:2, 299-334.

Abstract: This contribution examines the role of business magnates (“oligarchs”)
in political transitions away from competitive authoritarianism and
towards either full authoritarianism or democracy. Based on 65 cases of competitive
authoritarian regimes named in the academic literature, 24 historical cases
with politically active business magnates are identified for further investigation.
The analysis shows that in about half of those cases business magnates do not
have a distinct impact on political regime change, as they are tightly integrated
into the ruling elites. If they do have an impact, they hamper democratization at
an early stage, making a transition to full democracy a rare exception. At the
same time, a backlash led by the ruling elites against manipulation through
business magnates makes a transition to full autocracy more likely than in
competitive authoritarian regimes without influential business magnates.

Kostenloser Download unter: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jbwg.2019.60.issue-2/jbwg-2019-3001/jbwg-2019-3001.xml?format=INT&lang=en