Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism

Abstract

The prospect of democracy seems gloomy, as post-lockdown policies show no sign of democratic revival (Economist Intelligence, 2023), and strongman politics is becoming popular in the global stage (Rachman, 2022). While new quasi-autocracies, for example, electoral autocracies, are posing new challenges to international politics, they share some characters with the revolutionary dictatorship which mushroomed in the twentieth century. The key of the shared patterns lies in how an autocratic regime stabilizes itself. In sociology, for example, Max Weber (2005) has highlighted the importance of legitimacy (charismatic, traditional, and legal-formal) for political domination (see also Schluchter, 1985). In economics, the existence of a strong state apparatus is often rationalized by the aims to achieve collective actions and facilitate economic growth (e.g. Olson, 2000). In politics, the degree of democratic development is associated with the emergence of an effective state and/or the rule of law, contributing to stability/instability of a regime (Fukuyama, 2012). Instead of studying dictatorship in general, Levitsky and Way focus on the revolutionary regimes in the twentieth century. As stated in Chapter 1, the revolutionary regimes are surprisingly durable in that on average they have much longer regime longevity than nonrevolutionary regimes, and they managed to survive many crises that would normally have toppled a regime. They are mostly exempt from military coup d’état (e.g. China, Iran); As weak as some revolutionary regimes are, they are able to withstand strong foreign pressure (e.g. Cuba, Vietnam); Most revolutionary regimes can effectively quell domestic uprisings. Unique characters of the revolutionary regimes play a key role in their survival. Aiming to explain their durability, the book has a very clear argument: severe counter-revolutionary conflicts reacting to radical revolutionary actions foster three pillars, that is, a cohesive ruling party, a powerful and loyal state apparatus, and the extermination of alternative power centers, thereby contributing to durable authoritarianism, while the 1194154 ISS0010.1177/02685809231194154International SociologyReviews: Political Sociology review-article2023