An Autocratic Middle-Class in Azerbaijan: Does State Dependency Lead to Authoritarian Resiliency

Nahmadova, Firuza (2021): An Autocratic Middle-Class in Azerbaijan: Does State Dependency Lead to Authoritarian Resiliency. Published in: Baku Research Institute

Abstract

It is often assumed in the ’political economy research of the last decade, as well as by theories on democratization waves and the fall of authoritarian states, that the rise of a middle class eventually leads to a democratic transition. Throughout the 20th century, many democratic transitions were led by mass mobilizations of the middle classes. Middle-class movements and industrial worker groups were associated with higher democratic support and mobilization from 1900 to 2013 (NAVCO 2014). In her book The Autocratic Middle Class: How State Dependency Reduces the Demand for Democracy (2020), Bryn Rosenfeld studies this relationship in the post-Soviet region. A large portion of this article is based on her research.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Azerbaijan, middle class, income inequality, democracy, regime change
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H13 - Economics of Eminent Domain ; Expropriation ; Nationalization; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure ; Wage Differentials; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O53 - Asia including Middle East

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