Suchergebnisse

Gyimah-Boadio reviews 'Negotiating Democracy: Transitions from Authoritarian Rule' by Gretchen Casper and Michelle M. Taylor.

Despite the persistence of authoritarian forms of rule, studies of state domination have seen little need to analyse the use of force against citizens. This essay argues that, while state violence is elemental, it is not straightforward. States have a range of repressive tools at their disposal, which they need to deploy rationally and with finesse if they are to consolidate their authoritarian systems. As a step towards problematizing state violence, this essay suggests the concept of calibrated coercion, which represses challengers with minimum political cost. Calibrated coercion is illustrated through an in-depth case study of press controls in Singapore, where one of the world's most successful hegemonic parties has governed continuously for four decades. Behind the stability of the press system, the Singapore government has made fundamental changes to its modes of control, with less frequent recourse to blunter instruments such as newspaper closures or arbitrary arrest. Instead, less visible instruments are increasingly used, with the media's commercial foundations turned against themselves. (Pac Rev/GIGA)

Propaganda for sale -- Marketized media as instruments of regime stability and change -- Types of newspapers in China -- Boundaries for news reporting on labor law and the United States -- Selection and tone of news stories -- Discursive space in Chinese media -- Media credibility and media branding -- Newspaper consumption -- Media effects on public opinion -- Media citizenship in China -- China and other authoritarian states -- Responsive authoritarianism in Chinese media.

This volume offers a systematic account of the international dimensions of authoritarianism, identifying both the range of possible international influences and the causal mechanisms through which they promote and protect authoritarianism.