Journal article
Elise S. Brezis, Thierry Verdier
Economics of Transition, vol. 21(1), 2013 Jan, pp. 53-71
Economics of Transition, vol. 21(1), 2013 Jan, pp. 53-71
DOI:
10.1111/ecot.12003
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APA
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Brezis, E. S., & Verdier, T. (2013). Non-linear Geographics and the Economics of Transition and Democratization. Economics of Transition, 21(1), 53–71.
Chicago/Turabian
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Brezis, Elise S., and Thierry Verdier. “Non-Linear Geographics and the Economics of Transition and Democratization.” Economics of Transition 21, no. 1 (January 2013): 53–71.
MLA
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Brezis, Elise S., and Thierry Verdier. “Non-Linear Geographics and the Economics of Transition and Democratization.” Economics of Transition, vol. 21, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 53–71.
BibTeX Click to copy
@article{brezis2013a,
title = {Non-linear Geographics and the Economics of Transition and Democratization},
year = {2013},
month = jan,
institution = {},
issue = {1},
journal = {Economics of Transition},
pages = {53-71},
volume = {21},
author = {Brezis, Elise S. and Verdier, Thierry},
month_numeric = {1}
}
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of geography on the transition process in authoritarian political regimes, and to investigate the nature of the links between political change, economic reforms and geographical location. A simple model of transition and democratization is presented wherein we show that the effectiveness of repression by the incumbent elite is a negative function of the distance to the ‘free world’. In consequence, geography has conflicting effects on shifts in political power. This article provides a rationale for the counterintuitive fact that the first authoritarian country to start a transition process towards democratization is not necessarily the one nearest to the free world.
Keywords: conflicts, democratization, elites, geography, repression, transition process
