A Better Dictator | Foreign Policy 7/11/17, 1&22 AM

A Better Dictator
If you have to live under an authoritarian regime, which kind is best?

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING APRIL 23, 2012

It seems pretty obvious that democratic governments are less corrupt and provide better services to their citizens

than autocracies, right? Wrong. Well, at least not all the time. In fact, Transparency Internationals widely cited

Corruption Perceptions Index gave Cuba a better score than Mexico in 2011 and ranked monarchist Jordan above

democratic Italy.

Nor are all dictatorships the same when it comes to corruption and graft. Its clear that some authoritarian

governments Singapore being the classic example have been much better than others at providing clean,

ecient governance. So assuming youre unlucky enough to live under a dictators thumb, which kind of thumb is

the best?

Trending Articles
Maduro Tells State Employees to Vote in His Constitutional
As Venezuelas crisis deepens, the regime tries to leverage vulnerable state workers to support its agenda.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/23/a-better-dictator/ Page 1 of 4
A Better Dictator | Foreign Policy 7/11/17, 1&22 AM

Powered By

Political scientists Nicholas Charron and Victor Lapuente recently examined four types of authoritarian

governments: single-party states, military juntas, monarchies, and personalist regimes governments strongly tied

to the charisma of a single leader. They found that single-party states think China and Vietnam are the most

responsive to citizens demands, providing a higher quality of governance. "They have to spread out among the

population and search for consent," Charron says. "This forces them to be a little bit more responsive." Chances are

the Chinese Communist Party has not lasted through the use of force alone, but also by making popular investments

in Chinas infrastructure and social services.

If single-party governments really are more responsive, governance should improve as a country gets richer and

citizens demand still more economic development. And indeed, a sample of 70 authoritarian countries between

1983 and 2003 found that in single-party states, good-governance indicators, such as lack of corruption and

provision of public services, did increase along with GDP.

Military regimes, on the other hand, are "inherently susceptible to internal splits within the ruling military elite"

and are therefore "less likely to undertake encompassing administrative reforms," according to the study. Charron

points to Syria, whose government dominated by an elite class of military ocers from President Bashar al-

Assads Alawite clan has proved far less open to reform than Jordans monarchy or Egypt under President Hosni

Mubarak.

As the world has seen this past year, it often takes bloodshed to pressure such regimes to commit to political reform

perhaps as good a reason as any for Egypts post-revolution junta to exit the scene as quickly as possible.

Like this article? Read an unlimited amount of articles, plus access to our entire 46-year printed archive, the FP App,

and the FP Insights Tool when you subscribe to FP Premium for 20% o!

YOU MAY LIKE SPONSORED LINKS BY TABOOLA

MEGAHYPE: THIS INVENTION STORMS THE INTERNET...

ECOCUT PRO

http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/23/a-better-dictator/ Page 2 of 4
A Better Dictator | Foreign Policy 7/11/17, 1&22 AM

CABLE COMPANIES FURIOUS OVER THIS NEW DEVICE

TV FROG

THE ULTIMATE CHEAP FLIGHTS FINDER!

SAVE70

PLAY IN AGANA! THE MOST ADDICTIVE GAME OF THE YEAR!

FORGE OF EMPIRES - FREE ONLINE GAME

MORE FROM FOREIGN POLICY BY TABOOLA

THIS MAP SHOWS CHINAS HILARIOUS STEREOTYPES OF EUROPE

THE OUSTER OF MATTIS: SOME FOLLOW-UP DETAILS AND A WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE

IRAN: DEATH TO PORNOGRAPHERS

TO THE YOUTH IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA: AN UNEXPECTED OPEN LETTER FROM IRANS SUPREME
LEADER

http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/23/a-better-dictator/ Page 3 of 4
A Better Dictator | Foreign Policy 7/11/17, 1&22 AM

HOW QATAR LOST THE MIDDLE EAST

A DUTCH NEWSPAPER FINDS THE PERFECT WAY TO EXPLAIN TRUMP

http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/23/a-better-dictator/ Page 4 of 4