The 20th century saw the emergence of authoritarian regimes in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the USSR that have both challenged the global order and persisted in the face of massive external pressure and catastrophic economic downturns. Drawing on statistical analysis and in-depth case studies, Lucan A. Way argues that the threat and resilience of such regimes can be traced to their origins in violent revolutionary conflict. A history of violent revolutionary struggle encourages external aggression but also inoculates regimes against major causes of authoritarian breakdown such as military coups and mass protest.
Lucan A. Way is professor of political science at the University of Toronto, where he codirects the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine. A former Kellogg Institute visiting fellow, he focuses his research on democratization and authoritarianism in the former Soviet Union and the developing world. His work on competitive authoritarianism has helped stimulate new and wide-ranging research into the dynamics of hybrid democratic-authoritarian rule. With Steven Levitsky, also a former Kellogg visiting fellow, Way is writing a new book, under contract with Princeton University Press, on the durability of authoritarian regimes founded in violent revolutionary struggle.
The cochair of the editorial board of the Journal of Democracy, Way holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
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