How Regional Organizations Sustain Authoritarian Rule: The Dictators' Club

Authoritarian regional organizations have experienced a remarkable rise in numbers and importance. Autocracies across the world have joined organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the Bolivian Alliance for the People of Our America (ALBA) over the last few decades. But why do autocracies institutionalize cooperation and join regional organizations considering the possible sovereignty costs? Do authoritarian regional organizations differ from their democratic counterparts in terms of activities and design? What are the domestic effects of membership for authoritarian rule?

How Regional Organizations Sustain Authoritarian Rule explores the rise in and the impact of authoritarian regional organizations - the Dictators' Clubs - in world politics. It examines how and why incumbent autocratic regimes sort into regional authoritarian organizations, compares their activities and designs to their democratic counterparts, and considers the political effects on member states. With a combination of statistical survival analysis and case studies from the Middle East, (Eur)Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, Maria J. Debre reveals that regional organizations have helped to defend autocratic regimes from pro-democratic protestors, co-opt political elites, legitimize flawed elections, regulate behavior among members to prevent unwanted domestic interference, and shield regimes against the fallout from international sanctions.

While regionalism has long been associated with the aspiration of states to promote democracy and human rights, Debre illustrates that these dictators' clubs bolster authoritarian rule worldwide.