Pitfalls of Family Rule
Barbara Junisbai
Sozialwissenschaften, Recht, Wirtschaft / Politikwissenschaft
Beschreibung
In The Pitfalls of Family Rule, Barbara Junisbai questions the conceptual divide separating democracy from nondemocracy as well as that separating "e;strong"e; authoritarian rulers from "e;weak"e; ones. Focusing on patronage, endemic to post-Soviet Eurasia but also present the world over, she untangles the spoils agreements that bind elites to strongman presidents. Incorporating multiple case studies, including an in-depth investigation into Kazakhstan over the span of twenty plus years, Junisbai demonstrates the power of institutional norms to hold seemingly unconstrainable rulers accountable in surprising and unexpected ways. "e;Strong"e; autocrats can stumble even when they set in place robust, pro-presidential institutions, while "e;weak"e; autocrats can endure by upholding normative contracts that elites perceive as fair and just. An important lesson emerges from The Pitfalls of Family Rule: not even the most personalist of regimes functions free of rules. The institutions over which autocrats claim control also lay claim over them.
