Elections Without Democracy: The Menu of Manipulation

Issue Date April 2002
Volume 13
Issue 2
Page Numbers 36-50
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Read the full essay here.

Elections, usually taken to be a hallmark of democracy, can also become a tool of authoritarian powerholders seeking to legitimate their rule.

About the Author

Andreas Schedler is professor of political science at CIDE in Mexico City. His most recent book is The Politics of Uncertainty: Sustaining and Subverting Electoral Authoritarianism (2013). At present, he is conducting public-opinion research on organized violence in Mexico.

View all work by Andreas Schedler

Image credit: VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

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