Boundary Control: Subnational Authoritarianism in Federal Democracies (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521127332)

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.

Author: Edward L. Gibson
ISBN-10: 0521127335
ISBN-13: 9780521127332
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/07/2013
Pages: 208
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2014