Boundary Control: Subnational Authoritarianism In Federal Democracies (cambridge Studies In Comparative Politics)
by Edward L. Gibson /
2013 / English / PDF
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The democratization of a national government is only a first step
in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory.
Even after a national government is democratized, subnational
authoritarian "enclaves" often continue to deny rights to citizens
of local jurisdictions. Edward L. Gibson offers new theoretical
perspectives for the study of democratization in his exploration of
this phenomenon. His theory of "boundary control" captures the
conflict pattern between incumbents and oppositions when a national
democratic government exists alongside authoritarian provinces (or
"states"). He also reveals how federalism and the territorial
organization of countries shape how subnational authoritarian
regimes are built and how they unravel. Through a novel comparison
of the late nineteenth-century American "Solid South" with
contemporary experiences in Argentina and Mexico, Gibson reveals
that the mechanisms of boundary control are reproduced across
countries and historical periods. As long as subnational
authoritarian governments coexist with national democratic
governments, boundary control will be at play.
The democratization of a national government is only a first step
in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory.
Even after a national government is democratized, subnational
authoritarian "enclaves" often continue to deny rights to citizens
of local jurisdictions. Edward L. Gibson offers new theoretical
perspectives for the study of democratization in his exploration of
this phenomenon. His theory of "boundary control" captures the
conflict pattern between incumbents and oppositions when a national
democratic government exists alongside authoritarian provinces (or
"states"). He also reveals how federalism and the territorial
organization of countries shape how subnational authoritarian
regimes are built and how they unravel. Through a novel comparison
of the late nineteenth-century American "Solid South" with
contemporary experiences in Argentina and Mexico, Gibson reveals
that the mechanisms of boundary control are reproduced across
countries and historical periods. As long as subnational
authoritarian governments coexist with national democratic
governments, boundary control will be at play.
