A dissertation by an American PhD candidate seeks to provide an explanation for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s secret of political longevity by concluding that “elections are an important survival strategy for authoritarian regimes like the one in Egypt.”
“Why do authoritarian regimes like Egypt even choose to hold elections?” American researcher at Harvard University Lisa Blaydes asks.
Blaydes, who is also an associate professor at Stanford University's Political Science Department, attempted to answer this question in her PhD dissertation, entitled, “Who Votes in Authoritarian Elections and Why? Determinants of Voter Turnout in Contemporary Egypt.”
The study found that, contrary to popular belief, dictators rely on oppression and electoral fraud to perpetuate their power. The authoritarian regime in Egypt, she noted, relies on "devious" methods of maintaining power.
According to Blaydes, an understanding of state institutions–including electoral institutions, which she says have become “an essential element in the longevity of the Mubarak regime”–are essential to understanding authoritarian politics in general.
The study noted that the Mubarak regime provided an opportunity for competition between independent candidates, while the regime's power elites ensured that the ruling party captures the vast majority of seats in parliament.
Blaydes went on to explain that "the government determines which parties receive party licenses, while it uses constitutional and legislative decrees to control the degree of competition in elections."
She believes that the relationship between the regime and the state is a “complex” one. She points out that the regime has "a tendency to issue policies that are inconsistent with each other," confirming the view that “the Egyptian regime could find itself in conflict with institutions that it established itself."
"The regime in Egypt is led by the president and his immediate family, followed by an elite group from the ruling party and the highest political circles in the country,” Blaydes asserted.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
