The Autocratic Middle Class: How State Dependency Reduces the Demand for Democracy

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Bryn Rosenfeld

The Autocratic Middle Class

How State Dependency Reduces the Demand for Democracy

Bryn Rosenfeld

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English

Princeton University Press
01 June 2021

Social classes; Political science & theory; Comparative politics; Political ideologies; Fascism & Nazism

Series: Princeton Studies in Political Behavior

How middle class economic dependence on the state impedes democratization and contributes to authoritarian resilienceConventional wisdom holds that the rising middle classes are a force for democracy. Yet in post-Soviet countries like Russia, where the middle class has grown rapidly, authoritarianism is deepening. Challenging a basic tenet of democratization theory, Bryn Rosenfeld shows how the middle classes can actually be a source of support for autocracy and authoritarian resilience, and reveals why development and economic growth do not necessarily lead to greater democracy.

In pursuit of development, authoritarian states often employ large swaths of the middle class in state administration, the government budget sector, and state enterprises. Drawing on attitudinal surveys, unique data on protest behavior, and extensive fieldwork in the post-Soviet region, Rosenfeld documents how the failure of the middle class to gain economic autonomy from the state stymies support for political change, and how state economic engagement reduces middle-class demands for democracy and weakens prodemocratic coalitions.

The Autocratic Middle Class makes a vital contribution to the study of democratization, showing how dependence on the state weakens the incentives of key societal actors to prefer and pursue democracy.

By: Bryn Rosenfeld
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691192185
ISBN 10: 0691192189
Series: Princeton Studies in Political Behavior
Pages: 290
Publication Date: 01 June 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Bryn Rosenfeld is assistant professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University.

Reviews for The Autocratic Middle Class: How State Dependency Reduces the Demand for Democracy

""Winner of the Ed A Hewett Book Prize, Association for Slavic, Eastern European, & Eurasian Studies"" ""Rosenfeld’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in questions of development and democratisation. In its successful effort to illuminate the role of the middle class in promoting democracy, it should serve as an important reference point for future scholarship in the field. As such, it deserves wide attention.""---Europe-Asia Studies, Zuzanna Brunarska ""A must-read for anyone interested in autocratic politics. . . . The Autocratic Middle Class is a masterclass in the analysis of public opinion and an important contribution to the literature on autocratic politics and democratization.—Natalie Wenzell Letsa, Political Science Quarterly""