Trends of post-Cold War Autocratization

Abstract

What prevailing forms does autocratization take in the post-Cold War period? In this chapter, the authors engage in the empirical analysis of post-Cold War processes of autocratization. Based on the analytical framework elaborated in the previous chapter of this book, the authors identify a global sample of autocratization episodes occurred between 1990 and 2015, and map geographical and historical trends. The analysis confirms that autocratization represents an increasingly relevant political phenomenon, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and the post-communist world. Post-Cold War autocratization takes four main forms, namely, transitions from liberal democracy to defective democracy; from defective democracy to electoral autocracy; from defective democracy to closed autocracy; and from electoral autocracy to closed autocracy. Moreover, autocratization tends to take different forms in different regions, and to “evolve” through time.