14.01.2015

Institutskolloquium: Authoritarian Gravity Centers:Conceptualizing Clusters of Autocracies in the Middle East

Thomas Demmelhuber, Univ. Hildesheim at Wednesday, 21st January 2014, 16:00 c.t., Room 124, IfP

Thomas Demmelhuber is junior professor for political science at the Stiftung Universität Hildesheim.

Gravity centers of authoritarian rule: a comparative perspective

The resilience of autocratic regimes in various world regions and the emerging model of illiberal capitalist autocracies (China, Russia) have led scholars to shift their attention to the durability of such regimes. Autocracies not only resist the global spread of democracy, but are developing their own domestic efforts in the promotion of autocracy. However, mainstream literature tends to focus on the domestic dimension, while overlooking the international sphere. This study argues that processes at the regional level aim at the dissemination and diffusion of autocratic norms, structures, processes, policy approaches or practices. Likewise, we propose that authoritarian gravity centers (AGCs) can be attributed with both the active promotion of autocracy as well as the inducement of diffusion effects. Our research tries to identify such gravity centers and shed some light on their strategies and modes of influence on countries in their geopolitical proximity (target states). For this purpose, our paper offers a concept for crystallizing the patterns of interaction between regional autocratic regimes.