Comparative Politics

B17 - Democratic Governance and Development

Date: Jun 1 | Time: 10:30am to 12:00pm | Location: Classroom - CL 435 Room ID:15771

Chair/Président/Présidente : Paul Gray (Brock University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Paul Gray (Brock University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Maureen Hiebert (University of Calgary)

Who's Next "Singapore of Africa"? South-South Interactions and Authoritarian Learning in Ethiopia and Rwanda: Colette Nyirakamana (McMaster University), Helen Beny (McMaster University), Netina Tan (McMaster University)
Abstract: China’s “one-belt, one road initiative” has accelerated South-South interactions around the world. In East Africa, countries are looking to learn from the East Asian developmental experiences to prosper and be the next “Singapore of Africa”. The Singapore model of development to maintain an open market economy without substantial political liberalization is increasingly attractive to developing countries such as Ethiopia and Rwanda. What are the effects of South-South cooperation on regime stability? Will the increased South-South interactions foster learning and legitimize electoral authoritarianism as an alternative to liberal democracy? Our paper investigates these questions by tracing the socio-economic trade links and cooperation between Singapore and two East African countries, Ethiopia and Rwanda in the last decade. We build on the policy diffusion and policy learning theoretical frameworks to assess whether learning has occurred. Specifically, we focus on observable policy changes in the areas of 1) media regulation; 2) election management system; and 3) openness to international election monitors to assess the impact on democratic governance. Based on data derived from elite interviews, cross-country governance and regime indicators, we expect to find that increased bilateral trade and cooperation between Singapore, Ethiopia and Rwanda are associated with the selective adaptation of the Singapore model in the two East African states.

Why Authoritarian Regimes Experiment with Democracy: The Case of China: Qinghua Yi (Simon Fraser University)
Abstract: China is generally considered as an outlier in modernization theory with high economic growth and resilient authoritarian rule. Taking advantage of a data set on China’s local government innovation programs, this paper tests the relationship between economic development and democratic quality of these programs in Chinese context. While it does not find any significant relationship between the two, it also denies the hypothesis that government’s involvement in its innovation programs plays a negative role in promoting democracy. It finds that local governments are more interested in promoting democratic procedural or institutions (e.g. introducing elections), rather than educating on democratic values (e.g. equality, participation, etc.). The paper further explores the impact of government official’s education background and social pressure that government faces on democratic qualities of the innovation programs.