A surprising feature of democratisation in many countries is that large numbers of people, after gaining the right to choose their leaders through free and fair elections, vote for political parties with deep roots in dictatorship. Authoritarian successor parties—or parties that emerge from authoritarian regimes but that operate after a transition to democracy—are one of the most common features of the global democratic landscape. They have been prominent actors in nearly three-quarters of all third-wave democracies, and they have been voted back into office in over one-half of all third-wave democracies. To date, however, they have not received the level of scholarly attention that they deserve. In this presentation, I discuss the concept of authoritarian successor parties and present new data on their prevalence and electoral success. I discuss the various resources that these parties can inherit from authoritarian regimes (“authoritarian inheritance”), as well as the liabilities of an authoritarian past (“authoritarian baggage”). I conclude by discussing their effects on democracy, arguing that these are not entirely negative but rather double-edged.

The working paper is available here.

James Loxton is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on the intersection between regime transitions and political parties, particularly in Latin America. He recently co-edited the volume Challenges of Party-Building in Latin America (2016, Cambridge University Press). He is currently working on the edited volume Life After Dictatorship: Authoritarian Successor Parties Worldwide, and a book exploring variation in conservative party-building in Latin America. He received his MA (2009) and PhD (2014) in Government from Harvard University, and his BA (2006) in Politics from Princeton University. He is originally from British Columbia, Canada.