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ID:
164822
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| Summary/Abstract |
The evidence of regional authoritarian clustering across different world regions goes together with the finding that after the end of the bipolar world regional patterns of interaction became more important. Especially in the 2000s a process of revitalisation of regional organisations and even the creation of new regional organisations took place. Interestingly, these newly founded organisations consist predominantly of authoritarian regimes. Due to the emergence and resilience of authoritarianism in the world, the question arises: To what extent do regional organisations (ROs) play a role in this phenomenon? We argue that authoritarian protagonists which we call authoritarian gravity centres (AGCs) constitute a force of attraction for countries in geopolitical proximity – and use ROs as a transmission belt and a learning room for disseminating autocratic elements. In a cross-regional comparison, based on extensive field work, we provide empirical analysis on two AGCs (Saudi Arabia and Venezuela) within their respective ROs Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) and tackle the questions of why and how autocracies decide to move forward multilaterally within the RO.
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| 2 |
ID:
177202
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| Summary/Abstract |
In 2011 mass protests began to rapidly spread across the Middle East and scholarly attention shifted to the Gulf region, which not only remained resilient but rather asserted its authoritarian rule. We argue that such a development is considerably shaped by an individual protagonist country, we call an “authoritarian gravity centre” (AGC). We understand an AGC as an autocratic regime that has the willingness and the capacity (in terms of material and immaterial means) to apply pressure, to disseminate autocratic ideas, norms, values, and techniques, and to constitute a role model for other countries in the AGC’s geopolitical proximity. This study, which covers the period between 2001 and 2015, provides an empirical analysis of Saudi Arabia acting as an AGC in the Gulf. The qualitative research is based on fieldwork conducted in Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, and Manama. Using the approach of the AGC, we offer a conceptualization of the phenomenon of autocratization in the Gulf region.
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