In this article, I provide a survey of the recent and rapidly growing theoretical and empirical literature on autocracy promotion. In a relatively concise way, the reader is able to grasp all key concepts and related aspects on the topic. This article is a guide for all those aiming to begin their journey in the scholarly land of autocracy promotion, trying to stimulate these travelers in exploring off-beaten research avenues.
AidtTSAlbornozF (2011) Political Regimes and Foreign Intervention. Journal of Development Economics94: 192–201.
2.
AmbrosioT (2009) Authoritarian Backlash: Russian Resistance to Democratization in the Former Soviet Union. Farnham: Ashgate.
3.
AmbrosioT (2010) Constructing a Framework of Authoritarian Diffusion: Concepts, Dynamics, and Future Research. International Studies Perspectives11: 375–392.
4.
AmbrosioT (2012) The Rise of the “China Model” and “Beijing Consensus”: Evidence of Authoritarian Diffusion?Contemporary Politics18: 381–399.
5.
AmbrosioT (2014) Democratic States and Authoritarian Firewalls: America as a Black Knight in the Uprising in Bahrain. Contemporary Politics20: 331–346.
6.
AmbrosioT (2015) Leadership Succession in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: Regime Survival after Nazarbayev and Karimov. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies17: 49–67.
7.
BaderJ (2015a) China, Autocratic Patron? An Empirical Investigation of China as a Factor in Autocratic Survival. International Studies Quarterly59: 23–33.
8.
BaderJ (2015b) China’s Foreign Relations and the Survival of Autocracies. Abingdon: Routledge.
9.
BaderJ (2015c) Propping up Dictators? Economic Cooperation from China and Its Impact on Authoritarian Persistence in Party and Non-Party Regimes. European Journal of Political Research54: 655–672.
10.
BaderJ (2015d) The Political Economy of External Exploitation. A Comparative Investigation of China’s Foreign Relations. Democratization 22: 1–21.
11.
BaderJFaustJ (2014) Foreign Aid, Democratization, and Autocratic Survival. International Studies Review16: 575–595.
12.
BaderJGrävingholtJKästnerA (2010) Would Autocracies Promote Autocracy? A Political Economy Perspective on Regime-Type Export in Regional Neighbourhoods. Contemporary Politics16: 81–100.
13.
BaderM (2014) Democracy Promotion and Authoritarian Diffusion: The Foreign Origins of Post-Soviet Election Laws. Europe-Asia Studies66: 1350–1370.
14.
BalmacedaMM (2014) Living the High Life in Minsk. Russian Energy Rents, Domestic Populism and Belarus’ Impending Crisis. New York: Central European University Press.
15.
BankA (2017) The Study of Authoritarian Diffusion and Cooperation: Comparative Lessons on Interest versus Ideology, Nowadays and in History. Democratization24: 1345–1357.
16.
BörzelT (2015) The Noble West and The Dirty Rest? Western Democracy Promoters and Illiberal Regional Powers. Democratization22: 519–535.
17.
BörzelTVan HüllenV (2014) One Voice, One Message, but Conflicting Goals: Cohesiveness and Consistency in the European Neighbourhood Policy. Journal of European Public Policy21: 1033–1049.
18.
BrandAMcEwen-FialSMunoW (2015) An “Authoritarian Nexus”? China’s Alleged Special Relationship with Autocratic States in Latin America. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies99: 7–28.
19.
BrownS (2001) Authoritarian Leaders and Multiparty Elections in Africa: How Foreign Donors Help to Keep Kenya’s Daniel Arap Moi in Power. Third World Quarterly22: 725–739.
20.
BrownleeJ (2012) Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the U.S.-Egyptian Alliance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
21.
BrownleeJ (2017) The Limited Reach of Authoritarian Powers. Democratization24: 1326–1344.
BurnellP (2010) Is There a New Autocracy Promotion? (Working Paper No. 96). Madrid: FRIDE.
24.
CarothersT (2006) The Backlash against Democracy Promotion. Foreign Affairs85: 55–68.
25.
CarothersTSamet-MarramO (2015) The New Global Marketplace of Political Change. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
26.
ChenDKinzelbachK (2015) Democracy Promotion and China: Blocker or Bystander?Democratization22: 400–418.
27.
D’AnieriP (2014) Autocratic Diffusion and the Pluralization of Democracy. In: PaulyLWJentlesonBW (Eds) Power in a Complex Global System. Abingdon: Routledge, pp.80–96.
28.
de la TorreC (2017) Hugo Chavez and the Diffusion of Bolivarianism. Democratization24: 1271–1288.
29.
DelcourLWolczukK (2015) Spoiler or Facilitator of Democratization?: Russia’s Role in Georgia and Ukraine. Democratization22: 459–478.
30.
EmmanuelNG (2012) “With a Friend like This …”: Shielding Cameroon from Democratization. Journal of Asian and African Studies48: 145–160.
31.
Escribà-FolchAWrightJ (2015) Foreign Pressure and the Politics of Autocratic Survival. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
32.
FreyburgTRichterS (2015) Local Actors in the Driver’s Seat: Transatlantic Democracy Promotion under Regime Competition in the Arab World. Democratization22: 496–518.
33.
GatA (2007) The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers. Foreign Affairs, p.86.
34.
GerschewskiJ (2013) The Three Pillars of Stability: Legitimation, Repression, and Co-optation in Autocratic Regimes. Democratization20: 13–38.
35.
GrimmS (2015) European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External-Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash. Global Policy6: 73–82.
36.
HallSGF (2017) Preventing a Colour Revolution: The Belarusian Example as an Illustration for the Kremlin?East European Politics33: 162–183.
37.
HallSGFAmbrosioT (2017) Authoritarian Learning: A Conceptual Overview. East European Politics33: 143–161.
38.
HassanO (2015) Undermining the Transatlantic Democracy Agenda? The Arab Spring and Saudi Arabia’s Counteracting Democracy Strategy. Democratization22: 479–495.
39.
JacksonN (2010) The Role of External Factors in Advancing Non-Liberal Democratic Forms of Political Rule: A Case Study of Russia’s Influence on Central Asian Regimes. Contemporary Politics16: 101–118.
40.
JahnB (2012) Rethinking Democracy Promotion. Review of International Studies38: 685–705.
41.
KhakeeA (2017) Democracy Aid or Autocracy Aid? Unintended Effects of Democracy Assistance in Morocco. The Journal of North African Studies22: 238–258.
42.
KneuerMDemmelhuberT (2016) Gravity Centres of Authoritarian Rule: A Conceptual Approach. Democratization23: 775–796.
43.
LankinaTLibmanAObydenkovaA (2016) Authoritarian and Democratic Diffusion in Post-Communist Regions. Comparative Political Studies49: 1599–1629.
44.
LibmanAObydenkovaA (2015) New Theory of External Dimension of Transition: Introduction. In: ObydenkovaALibmanA (eds) Autocratic and Democratic External Influences in Post-Soviet Eurasia. Farnham: Ashgate, pp.1–6.
45.
MelnykovskaIPlamperHSchweickertR (2012) Do Russia and China Promote Autocracy in Central Asia?Asia Europe Journal10: 75–89.
46.
NodiaG (2014) The Revenge of Geopolitics. Journal of Democracy25: 139–150.
47.
ObydenkovaALibmanA (2014) Understanding the Foreign Policy of Autocratic Actors: Ideology or Pragmatism? Russia and the Tymoshenko Trial as a Case Study. Contemporary Politics20: 347–364.
48.
ObydenkovaALibmanA (2015) Modern External Influences and the Multi-Level Regime Transition: Theory-Building. In: ObydenkovaALibmanA (eds) Autocratic and Democratic External Influences in Post-Soviet Eurasia. Farnham: Ashgate, pp.7–46.
49.
OdiniusDKuntzP (2015) The Limits of Authoritarian Solidarity: The Gulf Monarchies and Preserving Authoritarian Rule During the Arab Spring. European Journal of Political Research54: 639–654.
50.
RisseTBabayanN (2015) Democracy Promotion and the Challenges of Illiberal Regional Powers: Introduction to the Special Issue. Democratization22: 381–399.
51.
SilitskiV (2010a) Contagion Deterred: Preemptive Authoritarianism in the Former Soviet Union (the Case of Belarus). In: BunceVMcFaulMStoner-WeissK (eds) Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Postcommunist World. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp.274–299.
52.
SilitskiV (2010b) “Survival of the Fittest”: Domestic and International Dimensions of the Authoritarian Reaction in the Former Soviet Union Following the Colored Revolutions. Communist and Post-Communist Studies43: 339–350.
53.
SimpserADonnoD (2012) Can International Election Monitoring Harm Governance?The Journal of Politics74: 501–513.
TanseyO (2016a) The International Politics of Authoritarian Rule. New York: Oxford University Press.
56.
TanseyO (2016b) The Problem with Autocracy Promotion. Democratization23: 141–163.
57.
TanseyOKoehlerKSchmotzA (2016) Ties to the Rest: Autocratic Linkages and Regime Survival. Comparative Political Studies50: 1221–1254.
58.
TolstrupJ (2009) Studying a Negative External Actor: Russia’s Management of Stability and Instability in the “Near Abroad.”Democratization16: 922–944.
59.
TolstrupJ (2013) When Can External Actors Influence Democratization: Leverage, Linkages, and Gatekeeper Elites. Democratization20: 716–742.
60.
TolstrupJ (2015a) Black Knights and Elections in Authoritarian Regimes: Why and How Russia Supports Authoritarian Incumbents in Post-Soviet States. European Journal of Political Research54: 673–690.
61.
TolstrupJ (2015b) Problems in Studying the International Dimension of Authoritarianism. APSA-CD Newsletter13: 8–11.
62.
TolstrupJ (2015c) Subnational Level: Russian Support for Secessionism and Pockets of Autocracy. In: ObydenkovaALibmanA (eds) Autocratic and Democratic External Influences in Post-Soviet Eurasia. Farnham: Ashgate, pp.109–132.
von SoestC (2015) Democracy Prevention: The International Collaboration of Authoritarian Regimes. European Journal of Political Research54: 623–638.
67.
WayLA (2015) The Limits of Autocracy Promotion: The Case of Russia in the “Near Abroad.”European Journal of Political Research54: 691–706.
68.
WayLA (2016) Weakness of Autocracy Promotion. Journal of Democracy27: 64–75.
69.
WayLALevitskyS (2007) Linkage, Leverage, and the Post-Communist Divide. East European Politics and Societies21: 48–66.
70.
WehreyF (2015) Saudi Arabia’s Anxious Autocrats. Journal of Democracy26: 71–85.
71.
WeylandK (2017) Autocratic Diffusion and Cooperation: The Impact of Interests vs. Ideology. Democratization24: 1235–1252.
72.
WhiteheadL (2014) Antidemocracy Promotion. Four Strategies in Search of a Framework. Taiwan Journal of Democracy10: 1–24.
73.
WhiteheadL (2015) International Democracy Promotion as a Political Ideology: Upsurge and Retreat. Journal of Political Ideologies20: 10–26.
74.
YakouchykK (2016) The Good, the Bad, and the Ambitious: Democracy and Autocracy Promoters Competing in Belarus. European Political Science Review8: 195–224.
75.
YomSLAl-MomaniMH (2008) The International Dimension of Authoritarian Regime Stability: Jordan in the Post-Cold War Era. Arab Studies Quarterly30: 39–60.
76.
ZuqueteP (2008) The missionary politics of Hugo Chavez. Latin American Politics and Society50: 91–121.
