The myth of the benevolent autocrat? Internal constraints, external constraints, and economic development in autocracies

Thesis

Why do some autocracies produce high economic development while others falter? Despite the large literature comparing democracies and autocracies we know little about differences amongst autocratic regimes. I focus on the rule of one autocrat over time instead of comparing across regimes, and argue that an autocrat can be constrained by both a strong ruling elite (internal constraints) and an organized civil society (external constraints). I depart from the literature focusing on instituti...

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Authors: Nyrup, J

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Elites; Autocracies; Economic development; Civil society; Accountability
• Subjects: Comparative government; Political science