Research Programme 1:

Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems

In recent decades the vast differentiation of various forms of rulership in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East has been evident. These regimes range from authoritarian to hybrid to democratic, and further subtypes are also identifiable. Along with this proliferation of regimes in entirely different sociocultural contexts come several essential questions, which are central to this research programme: in which way and under which conditions do the different regimes legitimate themselves, and what capacity do they have – (bearing in mind that legitimacy and efficiency have to be understood in terms of constantly changing constellations and tensions)? Also important is the relationship between formal and informal institutions as well as the influence of international actors on regime-development.

News and Highlights:

• GIGA researchers co-organise two sections for the next general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, which will be held in Reykjavik in August 2011. The sections are entitled 'Comparing Authoritarian Regimes: Theoretical and Empirical Issues' (section co-chair: PD Dr Patrick Koellner) and 'Latin American Democracies in Comparative Perspective' (section co-chair: Dr Mariana Llanos). Information on how to propose panels and papers can be found on ECPR's relevant webpages.

• On August 23, 2010 the GIGA-Workshop "Neopatrimonialism in Various World Regions" on the concept of neopatrimonialism and its application in various world regions took place. It focused on the discussion of approaches and methods currently applied, as well as the presentation of empirical, comparative findings in Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Two research teams are currently dealing with the following topics: RT 1 focuses on “Persistence and Change in Undemocratic Regimes”; RT 2 analyses various aspects of “Law and Politics”. The essential topics of both RTs are outlined briefly in the following:

Research Teams:

1) Persistence and Change in Non-democratic Regimes

• Which legitimisation strategies do authoritarian regimes pursue, and  are these strategies successful? What role do economic performance, the strategic distribution of resources to certain parts of society, and the normative justification of rulership and the preservation of power play in  this context?
• Which processes of adaption to international and economic standards, as well as related processes of learning and interaction, can be observed among non-democratic and, above all, authoritarian regimes?
• How are political actors and institutions in non-democratic regimes interrelated, and are there lasting alliances among them? Which governance outcomes do civil society organisations and actors in particular generate, and what role do they play when it comes to the maintenance of undemocratic regimes?
• Which factors favour the development of neo-patrimonial forms of rulership in non-democratic regimes?

2) Law and Politics

• How much power do courts have within a political system? Has there been an increase in the power of courts following democratisation processes?
• Do courts have the ability to control the executive branch? How independent are courts – in democratic as well as in authoritarian regimes?
• Which actors are involved in constitutional amendment processes? How are constitutional amendment processes related to their political context (for example, in the context of regional administrations)?
• What influence do constitutional reforms have on the political system?
• What are the effects of the privatisation of security on human rights, the anchoring of the rule of law, and democracy in general?

Selected Publications:

Erdmann, Gero/Kneuer, Marianne (Hg.) 2009: Externe Faktoren der Demokratisierung, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag 2009

Gilley, Bruce/Holbig, Heike (2010): Reclaiming Legitimacy in China, in: Politics and Policy, 38 (3), pp. 395-442.

Gilley, Bruce/Holbig, Heike (2009): The Debate on Party Legitimacy in China: A Mixed Quantitative/Qualitative Analysis, Journal of Contemporary China, no.18(59), March 2009, pp. 339-358.

Köllner, Patrick (2009): Japanese Lower House Campaigns in Transition: Manifest Changes or Fleeting Fads?, in: Journal of East Asian Studies 9, 1, pp. 121-149

Köllner, Patrick ( 2008): Autoritäre Regime - Ein Überblick über die jüngere Literatur, in: Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, 2/2008, pp. 351-368

Schucher, Günter (2009): Liberalisierung in Zeiten der Instabilität. Spielräume unkonventioneller Partizipation im autoritären Regime der VR China, in: ASIEN, Vol.: 111 (April), pp. 50-75.

Head of Research Programme 1: Dr. Gero Erdmann GIGA Institute of African Affairs Neuer Jungfernstieg 21 20354 Hamburg Germany Phone: +49 (0)40 - 428 25-718 Fax: +49 (0)40 - 428 25-511 GIGA Berlin-Büro Charlottenstr. 43 10117 Berlin Tel.: 0 30 / 2 50 40 985 Fax: 0 30 / 2 50 40 987 http://www.giga-hamburg.de/english/rp1