Polity Atlas
Book

The Politics of Authoritarian Rule

Milan W. Svolik · Cambridge University Press · 2012

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Type
Book
Author
Milan W. Svolik
Identifier
DOI 10.1017/CBO9781139176040
Accessed
2026-09-01

Claims citing this source

3 claims
TheorySvolik models personal autocracy as the outcome of a struggle between a dictator and his ruling allies: when the allies can no longer credibly threaten to remove him, the dictator can accumulate power without constraint.TheorySvolik argues that authoritarian regimes must solve two fundamental conflicts: the problem of controlling the masses they rule over and the problem of sharing power with the elites they rule with.EstablishedAfter 1953 the Soviet leadership replaced personal dictatorship with collective leadership in which the Central Committee could remove the top leader, as it did peacefully with Khrushchev in 1964.