Papers on the political economy of authoritarianism

This doctoral thesis discusses several important and less studied aspects of the political economy of authoritarian regimes and draws on the study of Russia, one of the most prominent contemporary non-democracies. An introductory chapter presents the overarching theoretical framework of the dissertation and the state of research, it elaborates on the case of Russia and offers an overview of research questions, main findings, contributions, and limitations. The introductory chapter is followed by three empirical papers that focus on the interplay between authoritarian political institutions and economic and societal outcomes. Chapter 2 joins the ongoing debate over the effect of authoritarianism on environmental performance. Chapter 3 examines individual expectations and intended behavior of the Russian public when faced with the prospect of authoritarian persistence or political change. Chapter 4 seeks to broaden the scholarly understanding of how autocratic elites use legal repression to advance their ends. The thesis makes a theoretical, empirical and methodological contribution to the research field and to the understanding of Russian authoritarian politics and at the same time invites further scholarship on the political economy of non-democracies.