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Understanding the Global Patrimonial Wave

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2021

Stephen E. Hanson  and
Jeffrey S. Kopstein Open the ORCID record for Jeffrey S. Kopstein [Opens in a new window]
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Abstract

The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of patrimonial rule not only in the developing world but also, more surprisingly, in the developed West. This resurgence carries potentially dire consequences for responding to a range of pressing problems. Understanding the sources of contemporary patrimonialism is hindered by assimilating the phenomenon into the familiar democracy/autocracy typology or by assuming that it is a function of failed modernization. This article identifies the patrimonial phenomenon and explores the contemporary global diffusion of patrimonial rule from its origins in postcommunist Russia, with a focus on how patrimonialism has manifested itself in policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some signs indicate that reestablishing bureaucratic predictability and expertise may be much harder than demolishing it. In some respects, the task may be more daunting than the salvation of democracy itself.

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Type
Reflection
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Perspectives on Politics , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 237 - 249
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

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Footnotes

This is an updated version of the original article. For details please see the notice at https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592721002115

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