16.04.2019; Kolloquium
Colloquium: "Democracy, Development, and State Repression"
Abstract:
Although there is consensus that full democracies are less repressive than other regime types, the patterns of state repression differ considerably between democratizing countries. Against this background, this paper examines heterogeneity in the relationship between democracy and government violations of human rights. Drawing on arguments from the civil war literature, we develop a simple model that highlights opposing effects of democracy on state repression. Consequently, the net effect of democracy is shown to be ambiguous. Furthermore, the model reveals that pacifying (adverse) effects of democracy are more likely to dominate in countries with higher (lower) income levels. These implications are tested empirically using different methodological approaches, including time-series cross-sectional regressions, event studies, and a recent generalization of the synthetic control method. Our analyses confirm that democratization is related to immediate and persistent reductions of repression in relatively rich countries, whereas we find no or even adverse effects in poor countries.