College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Speaker:

Dr. Rebecca Tapscott, Fellow Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy at the Graduate Institute in Geneva

Unlike the despots of the past, known for arbitrary violence and direct rule, today’s authoritarians use the rule of law. Many of these regimes even cultivate democratic institutions: elections, separation of powers, and institutions designed to promote transparency and accountability. This has puzzled scholars – how can authoritarians survive in contexts of democracy, however imperfect or partial? This question is even more pronounced in lower-capacity states where the ruling regime may lack the capacity to suppress political opposition reliably and public dissent.

Based on 10 months of field research between 2014 and 2018, “Arbitrary States: Social control and authoritarianism in Museveni’s Uganda” examines authoritarianism from below, showing how some regimes use pervasive political unpredictability to maintain control in the face of democratic institutions and weak state capacity. It explores how the Ugandan state uses local violent actors including militias, vigilantes, and community policing initiatives for everyday governance, while denying these actors the ability to consolidate local authority that would allow them to challenge the state. The book speaks to global debates on authoritarian institutions and the rule of law to examine how today’s authoritarians are increasingly asserting themselves through seemingly democratic institutions.