Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-491) and index.

Introduction and theory. Introduction ; Explaining competitive autho ritarian regime trajectories: international linkage and the organizatio nal power of incumbents -- High linkage and democratization: Eastern Eu rope and the Americas. Linkage, leverage, and democratization in Easter n Europe ; Linkage, leverage, and democratization in the Americas -- Th e dynamics of competitive authoritarianism in low-linkage regions: the former Soviet Union, Africa, and Asia. The evolution of post-Soviet com petitive authoritarianism ; Africa: transitions without democratization ; Diverging outcomes in Asia ; Conclusion.

"Competitive authoritarian regimes - in which autocrats submit to me aningful multiparty elections but engage in serious democratic abuse - proliferated in the post-Cold War era. Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 199 0 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited , external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democ ratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of sta te and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition c hallenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumb ents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized"-- Provided by publisher.