Democracy and Autocracy in America Mini-Conference: Ambiguities of Democracy, Ambiguities of Autocracy

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Part of Mini-Conference

• Democracy and Autocracy in America

Session Description

The definitional distinctions drawn between democracy and autocracy often belie significant
ambiguities within these categories. Despite the absence of formal institutions of democracy, a
wealth of research has revealed the presence of significant deliberative and contentious politics
within autocratic systems. In some cases electoral and representative mechanisms are
incorporated into the logic of autocratic governance. In others the ambiguity is at the level of
democratic practices and subjectivities. Similarly, formally democratic systems may contain
within them significant autocratic practices, institutions, and “personalities”. Are these simply
examples of hybridization? If not, can we theorize such ambiguities as a stable feature of
regimes? And given that these features may be adapted to different regimes contexts, how can
we distinguish the democratic vs. autocratic manifestations of such practices and institutions

Sub Unit

• Division 44: Democracy and Autocracy

Chairs

• Robert Mickey University of Michigan

• Amel F. Ahmed University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Presenters

• Robyn Marasco CUNY, Hunter College

• Dan Slater University of Michigan

• Cihan Tugal UC Berkeley

• Lisa Wedeen University of Chicago